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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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MN: UK: Police Call For Softer Line On Heroin
Stewart Tendler, Melissa Kite The Times
Thursday 02 May 2002 BRITAIN's chief constables call today for heroin and cocaine users to be sent for treatment rather than prosecuted. They also intend to take a much more relaxed attitude towards people caught with small amounts of cannabis -- which is to be downgraded to a Class C drug this year -- adapting the "softly softly" approach pioneered in South London. The radical change in the police attitude to the handling of drug abuse is in line with the approach expected from the Commons Home Affairs Select Committee, which is to report on the subject this month. It is expected to call for cannabis to be further downgraded, along with Ecstasy, and for a much greater emphasis on treatment for heroin users. The chief constables are, however, against the downgrading of Ecstasy to a Class B drug and remain opposed to the decriminalisation of drugs, saying in a national policy statement that such a move would be a recipe for a crime wave, with "drug tourists" flocking into the country. They are also against the creation of so-called "shooting galleries" in which heroin users can inject the drug in designated safe areas. The Association of Chief Police Officers' statement says that it looks forward to the time when those who appear in court for misuse of Class A drugs have immediate access to treatment. This, it says, should sometimes be a real alternative to a caution or conviction. The police chiefs believe that too many addicts are being taken to court when they need medical help and say that it it is time society recognised that use of Class A drugs was often a health rather than a criminal issue. Commander Andy Hayman, the Scotland Yard Deputy Assistant Commissioner who prepared the policy statement, denied "going soft" on drugs, but said: "Greater use of treatment is the real option. Use of Class A drugs is a health issue but we are giving a punitive response". His statement was welcomed as a breakthrough by Labour MPs, who have campaigned for a change in attitude to drug misuse, but the Conservatives expressed doubts. Paul Flynn, Labour MP for Newport West, said: "This is a major breakthrough. We are in an extraordinary situation now where the debate is being led by the police and public opinion and it is the politicians who are being dragged along. "They have lacked the courage to enact reform. But the evidence is crystal clear that 30 years of the harshest drugs policy has given us the greatest drug problem and the greatest drug crimes. Political parties are in denial about this." Mr Flynn pointed to figures showing that since the introduction of harsh penalties in the Misuse of Drugs Act of 1971, the number of heroin and cocaine addicts in Britain had soared from 1,000 to 280,000. A head of steam has been slowly building behind a change in drugs policy. The debate has been heightened by the controversy surrounding Commander Brian Paddick, the former Lambeth police chief who pioneered a policy of confiscation coupled with a verbal warning for cannabis use so that he could focus resources more on hard drugs and street crime. He has been credited with bringing down the rate of street robbery in London 's most crime-ridden borough, although he has been moved to another post pending an investigation into claims that he allowed cannabis to be used in his home. Now other forces intend to adapt his approach, once David Blunkett has downgraded cannabis to a Class C drug, and to issue "flexible" guidelines to their officers. Police would be expected to caution, arrest or prosecute someone suspected of dealing in cannabis but otherwise take a more lenient approach. They would still be allowed to arrest anyone found with cannabis near a school. However, Ann Widdecombe, the former Shadow Home Secretary, voiced doubts about the new approach, saying: "I don't see the two (treatment and prosecution) as mutually exclusive." The Home Office meanwhile insisted that it already put great emphasis on treatment. A spokeswoman said: "There are excellent drug programmes in prisons. The Government is putting a lot of resources and energy into getting problematic class A drug users into treatment to break the cycle of addiction and crime. "The National Treatment Agency was set up last year and we have increased funds for treatment from ?234million this year to ?400million next year. We have a number of programmes to direct offenders into treatment."
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