|
Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
|
|
UK: Soft drugs call for hardline approach Eric Milligan, convener of Lothian and Borders Police Board Edinburgh Evening News Thursday 12 Feb 2004 A COUPLE of weeks ago, I was given a frightening insight into international criminal activity and the necessary policing operations - both have had a significant impact on me. I was at a Europol seminar in The Hague in my capacity as convener of the Lothian and Borders Police Board and it was an enlightening experience. Interestingly, it was also immediately relevant to me when I returned to Edinburgh. The visit gave me a sharp perspective on two things. The first was the debate over the threat of a cannabis cafe opening in Leith following the reclassification of the drug in the UK. The other was the report of the latest crime figures presented to the police board this week. Clearly, as an elected member of Edinburgh City Council, I have an interest in all that is happening in the city, including emerging cultural trends. I am conscious of the vigorous debate about recreational drugs, stimulated by the decision to make cannabis a Class C drug. I know that in the debate some national politicians have been put on the spot about their own use of drugs. For the record, I can say without fear of skeletons falling from cupboards, that illegal drugs have never played any part in my life. I know some politicians have admitted to smoking without inhaling, but I have never smoked cannabis. Some people may think that should eliminate me from the debate. Well, I don't. And my long-held suspicion of drug-taking and the even more insidious business of drug dealing were reinforced by my visit to Europol. I was with the chief constable and others in a delegation being briefed on the implications for us of international crime and, I can say, it imprinted a chilling picture on my mind. We were told of dreadful things that are happening in the world, but it was salutary to learn from very experienced police officers, close to the international scene, that they are still deeply concerned about the evil business of supplying and using cannabis. Clearly it is not as dangerous in its own right as heroin or cocaine, but it is an introduction to drug taking, which is the catalyst for major crime. Even someone like me, with no previous personal involvement with drugs, is aware of the scourge of addiction. That is why the attempt to open a cannabis cafe in Leith on the day of re-classification was significant. In the furore, it is important to make clear that firstly, it is still an illegal substance and, secondly, the police don't make the law, or pick and choose which laws have to be applied. People will still be prosecuted. THE chief constables of every Scottish force have made it clear that police will take action. After that, it is a matter for the procurators fiscal and the legal system. That is why I support our police service in dealing promptly and firmly with the attempt to create a cloak of respectability over a demeaning and degrading activity. As I have said, I went to The Hague in my role as convener of the police board, a position I took up less than a year ago. At that time another issue concerned my new colleagues and myself. The force's detection rates suddenly slipped and violent crime and attacks on women were on the increase. I find it sickening that innocent people can be attacked in Edinburgh and the surrounding towns, more so when the victims are women or elderly people. We were assured this was a glitch which stemmed from a major rearrangement of the force structure. We were prepared to accept that, but had a responsibility to monitor progress very carefully. Thankfully, in the second half of last year, the trend steadily got better. Figures presented to the board this week showed the force had been clawing back on just about every front, including a fall in recorded violence. I constantly remind myself that these things are not just about statistics; every single incident is painful for someone. Having said that, statistics are indicators of the society in which we live and the measurement of the effectiveness of what is being done in response. Improvements are due to tremendous commitment and hard work at all levels in the police service. In and among the figures, the only statistical disappointment was the increase in housebreaking. This is a crime of which I do have personal knowledge. My home has been broken into on two occasions, both times when I was on holiday. I know the sense of violation and the distress at the loss of hard-earned items and articles of personal importance. But I also know that it is not as frequent a crime as it was. I gather from experienced detectives that there is often a cyclical pattern in domestic housebreaking. It goes like this: a home is broken into, officers attend, investigate, discover the culprit lives in the vicinity and has previous convictions for this offence and was recently released from prison. The person goes to court, is sent down and the level of housebreaking in that area falls. Then the culprit is released and the cycle starts again. Clearly that cycle must be broken. BUT there is some reassurance that the reported increase still leaves us with one of the lowest levels of domestic housebreaking in the UK. Statistics are often complex to unravel, but we do know that Lothian and Borders Police in recent years introduced initiatives which resulted in the number of housebreakings tumbling month after month after month, so much so, that the level was lower than in any other urban force area in the UK. I have learned a lot in the ten months since I became convener and I expect to go on learning. But one lesson which has come home to me is that behind the headlines there is often a different, usually complex, story which is more difficult to tell. This is true of the cannabis cafe and it's true of the rise in domestic housebreaking. I will continue diligently to monitor and influence what the police are doing and discipline myself to look beyond fleeting images in the foreground, striving to see the bigger, more compelling picture that surrounds us. " Eric Milligan is convener of Lothian and Borders Police Board
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!