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UK: Cannabis warning trial starts
The BBC
Monday 02 Jul 2001 A controversial scheme which means people caught with a small amount of cannabis will be let off with a warning, is being piloted by the Metropolitan Police. The six month trial, starting in Lambeth, south London, on Monday could be extended across Greater London if it is considered a success. Home Secretary David Blunkett says the scheme, under which offenders will not be prosecuted, fits his priority of targeting Class A drugs such as heroin and cocaine. But shadow home secretary, Ann Widdecombe, said the government should focus on boosting police numbers, rather than letting forces decide when to enforce the law. Senior police officers say the innovative approach, welcomed by many politicians and drug campaign groups, could save vast amounts of police time. Offenders will get an on-the-spot warning and the cannabis will be confiscated, taking up 10 minutes of an officer's time, instead of 10 hours to process an arrest. But speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Miss Widdecombe said: "There are too few policemen with too much work to do to cover all crime as thoroughly as they would like. "That is the situation we should be tackling, not simply allowing the police to decide what is crime and what isn't." She added that the pilot scheme could go "one of two ways", depending on how it was enforced. People might avoid using cannabis in Brixton because they would know their drugs would be confiscated, she said, or it could become a "drug haven" as users would know they would not be prosecuted. "If properly implemented it could actually deter use of drugs in Brixton rather than encourage it." Commander Brian Paddick, running the initiative, told Today: "Local people have said that the things that most concern them are crack cocaine, heroin and street robbery, so I want to focus scarce police resources on those priorities." He said officers had told him, unofficially, that in some cases offences involving cannabis were being ignored. "This policy gives a formal way of putting into practice what has been happening maybe on the streets for some time." A report from Europe has already shown that more adults in Britain use cannabis than anywhere in the European Union. And independent research by the Drug Monitoring Unit has shown that the price of cannabis in the UK is reaching a record low. The amount of cannabis seized has dropped by around half over the past two years, but Customs officials deny they are turning a blind eye to cannabis imports. Like the home secretary, they say the priority is to seize Class A drugs. Mr Blunkett is also expected to announce a radical review of Britain's sentencing laws this week, including a crackdown on sentencing of violent criminals, sex offenders and teenage thugs. Under the plans, young criminals who re-offend will be given no second chance and will be fast-tracked back into court, while dangerous criminals, including rapists and paedophiles, will be refused early release from prison. His programme of reform will be announced in a speech to the National Probation Conference in London on Thursday - his first major address since taking over from Jack Straw as secretary of state after the election.
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