|
Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
|
|
UK: Police and residents back cannabis project
The Times
Thursday 21 Mar 2002 More than 80 per cent of residents in Lambeth where a controversial "softly softly" approach to cannabis possession is being piloted support the scheme, a report published today found. Just 8 per cent of people from the South London Borough disapproved of the initiative where people caught in possession of cannabis are let off with a warning, the Police Foundation study discovered. The scheme was given overall approval by 83 per cent of residents, 36 per cent supported it outright, and 47 per cent had given conditional support. Sir John Stevens, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, said earlier today that the project had saved 1,350 hours of police time in six months. Sir John told a meeting of the Metropolitan Police Authority that officers involved in the scheme had issued 450 warnings to people found with small amounts of the drug. The time saved was the equivalent of having nearly two extra officers. William Saulsbury, assistant directory of the Police Federation and in charge of the survey, said: "There is strong evidence that a high proportion of Lambeth residents support the scheme as a rationale approach on the part of the police. "They recognise that such a scheme does not offer a magic wand for reducing serious crime and use of hard drugs, but they expect, and believe, that the time saved with the new approach will be put to those ends." Sir John said that the pilot scheme saw a 35 per cent increase in the number of instances of possession recorded, and an 11 per cent increase in trafficking offences recorded. Supporters of the scheme claim that freeing officer time allows police to detect more offences. Critics say the increase in recorded offences is because drugs have flooded into the area as a result of the experiment. Asked about the impact of the scheme, 74 per cent people interviewed agreed the police would re-direct their resources into serious crime but 45 per cent believed there would be no difference in serious crime while 29 per cent thought the scheme would lead to a decrease in this area. The six-month pilot scheme began in July last year. The new system allows officers to issue warnings for small amounts of cannabis for personal use. Under the pilot scheme, the officer confiscates cannabis and issues a warning enabling the officer to return to street patrol more quickly than if a person was arrested. Sir John added: "A larger percentage of white residents (41 per cent) than black (28 per cent) or Asian (25 per cent) residents supported the scheme." The Police Foundation report was published three days after the officer who introduced the cannabis caution scheme was removed from his job. Commander Brian Paddick was moved to another post as an inquiry was launched into allegations that he regularly smoked cannabis and allowed the drug to be kept in his home. The claims were made by his former partner James Renolleau, an ex-male model. The 43-year-old Commander, Britain's highest-ranking openly gay policeman, was swiftly switched to a low profile desk job away from Lambeth while the inquiry is carried out by an outside force. He has vehemently denied smoking cannabis and claims he is the victim of a homophobic witch-hunt. Commander Paddick has received support from Ken Livingstone, the London Mayor, and members of the community in Lambeth.
After you have finished reading this article you can click here to go back.
|
This page was created by the Cannabis Campaigners' Guide.
Feel free to link to this page!