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UK: Scotland Won't Go Soft On Cannabis Andrew Denholm, Scottish Political Reporter The Scotsman
Friday 19 Sep 2003 POLICE officers across Scotland will continue to arrest offenders for possession of cannabis, despite moves in England and Wales to let most people off with a warning, Jack McConnell, the First Minister, announced yesterday. Mr McConnell said he had no plans to change existing recommendations, although he confirmed officials would continue to review the position. The First Minister's decision to maintain the status quo is seen by observers as an attempt to prevent recent efforts to appear tough on crime from being weakened. Mr McConnell has made tackling crime, and in particular youth crime, a central plank of his new administration, and any move to downgrade the use of cannabis could be interpreted as undermining this hardline stance. His statement follows the unveiling last week by David Blunkett, the Home Secretary, of new police guidelines which recommend "a presumption against arrest" for possession of cannabis. The new rules were issued as part of Mr Blunketts plans to downgrade cannabis from class B to class C in January. Last night, the SNP and the Scottish Socialist Party reacted angrily to Mr McConnell's comments, claiming Scotland was living in the past and should follow the example of England and Wales as soon as possible. However, Annabel Goldie, the justice spokeswoman for the Conservative Party, backed his stance, claiming the situation in England was now confusing. The Association of Chief Police Officers Scotland (ACPOS) confirmed that those caught in possession of cannabis would continue to be arrested, although they stressed that they would take "great interest" in developments south of the Border. Speaking in the Scottish Parliament during First Minister's question time, Mr McConnell said: "I dont believe current prosecution guidelines are inadequate. I think that in Scotland we have the balance right for the moment. "There are no plans to issue new guidance to Scottish police forces, although we will continue to keep this under review with ACPOS." Later, a Scottish Executive spokesman underlined the First Minister's position and highlighted the separate role of prosecutors in Scotland. "The long-standing power in Scotland to arrest for cannabis possession will remain in place. Drugs will be confiscated in all cases north and south of the Border," he said. "In England and Wales, it is generally the police who take the initial decision whether or not to start criminal proceedings. This is why the police have issued these guidelines. "In Scotland, investigation and prosecution of crime is a matter for the Lord Advocate, and it is for him to decide whether to issue guidance to police forces." He said decisions on whether or not to start criminal proceedings rested with the procurator-fiscal. "Fiscals already have guidance on cases involving drugs, and this guidance is thought to be sufficiently flexible to deal with cases involving cannabis, now and after reclassification," he said. Mr McConnell's comments were seized upon by Nicola Sturgeon, the justice spokeswoman for the SNP, who said it was "commonsense" to follow Mr Blunkett's example. "We need to target police resources more appropriately and prevent police officers wasting time going after people who are using cannabis for themselves and allow them to spend more time catching drug-dealers and cracking down on harder drugs. "There is a need to modernise the law and we dont want to get stuck in the past. It is important that trying to appear tough on crime doesn't get in the way of that." Colin Fox, an SSP MSP, said it was a "colossal waste" that 70 per cent of police anti-drug work was spent chasing cannabis users. "Scotland's police and court time is being taken up with the prosecution of cannabis users," he said. "By ruling out a change to the guidelines in Scotland, the First Minister is ensuring that Scotland will continue to live in the past when it comes to making progress on these arcane and outdated laws." However, Ms Goldie sided with Mr McConnell's determination to pursue his crime-fighting policy, regardless of changes at Westminster. "What is happening down south is now sending out a very confusing message, which seriously undermines the battle to rid our communities of drugs. It would have been completely unconvincing for Mr McConnell to talk tough on justice in one area and then appear to go soft in another area." Andrew Brown, the chief constable of Grampian Police and chairman of the crime committee of ACPOS, said: "ACPOS has no policy not to arrest those found in possession of controlled drugs, and therefore those found in possession of cannabis will continue to be dealt with in the same manner as previously. "It must also be recognised that the Scottish police have no facility of formal cautioning or reprimanding, as is afforded to our counterparts south of the Border; therefore this alternative to arrest and prosecution is not available. Chief police officers in Scotland will take great interest in the results of the English and Welsh forceschange in approach."
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