The study largely replicated an earlier Joseph Rowntree Foundation study which examined the policing of cannabis as a Class B drug Times they are a-changing: Policing of cannabis, May et al. Work in the case study areas involved observational work with operational police officers; interviews with police officers; analysis of custody records and street warning data during the period May to April ; and interviews with 61 young people. An internet survey of respondents was also conducted.
Fieldwork data was supplemented by published statistics and all fieldwork was carried out during The study found that: In , 73, cannabis offences came to police attention, of which over a third were dealt with by a street warning.
In the four study sites, street warnings were used as a way of dealing with offences of cannabis possession but they were by no means the norm and were rarely used in some areas. The eventual outcome of being found in possession of cannabis was not predictable and depended on factors such as the views of the officer, the amount of cannabis found, the attitude of the offender and local policy.
The proportion of street warnings varied across sites from 22 per cent to 42 per cent. In some police force areas, the issuing of street warnings appeared to be driven by pressure from senior officers to meet targets for the number of offences brought to justice. People from black and minority ethnic groups were over-represented in the arrest and street warning statistics for cannabis possession in the four research sites.
Officers' understanding of the new arrangements for possession offences was variable. Almost half of interviewed officers wanted to police 16 and 17 year olds in the same way as adults, by issuing them with street warnings.
Nearly all interviewed officers had met people who thought cannabis had been legalised. Over half of officers thought the Government was wrong to reclassify cannabis to a Class C drug. The recording and monitoring of street warnings was poor at both a national and a local level.
Policy background The road to reclassification was a long and tortuous one. Support for and understanding of reclassification The study included an internet survey and a survey of young people. One said: People are adamant that it is now legal and don't believe you when you tell them that it is not. Police officer Policing possession offences in four different areas Local arrangements for dealing with possession offences varied across the four sites and tended to be tailored to the problems of their area.
It would be simpler and make it fairer. Police officer The consequences of reclassification The rationale for street warnings was that they would be both a proportionate response and a timesaving one. Home Crime, justice and the law Courts, sentencing and tribunals. Drugs penalties. Related content Police powers to stop and search: your rights Being arrested: your rights Being charged with a crime. Explore the topic Courts, sentencing and tribunals.
Is this page useful? Maybe Yes this page is useful No this page is not useful. But they said users now often moderated their intake. They were also told that the incidence of new schizophrenia cases reported to GPs had gone down, not up, between and , indicating a weak link between increased potency and use in the past two decades and mental health problems. Since cannabis was downgraded in the proportion of young people using it has fallen each year from Among those aged 16 to 59, the proportion over the same period has fallen from The shadow home secretary, David Davis, said that he supported the decision to upgrade the drug but he criticised Labour's indecision over its classification.
He said: "The government's lax approach to drugs is the hallmark of our broken society under Labour. Davis accused the prime minister of wasting a year by announcing his policy intentions and then handing it to an advisory committee which he finally ignored.
Chris Huhne, the Liberal Democrats' home affairs spokesman, said: "The crackdown on skunk farms makes sense, but it is crazy to ignore the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs by raising the maximum prison sentence for cannabis possession to five years.
We need public education, not public flagellation. The spot fine proposal, as part of a list of 21 more offences for which police could impose penalties, is due for further consultation after magistrates expressed concerns about taking offences away from the courts system.
But the government says it wants spot fines for cannabis possession "as soon as possible". Det Ch Supt West was in charge of the investigation into the murder of Stevie Barton, a student who was killed by paranoid cannabis user Marc Middlebrook in We've all got to take some responsibility for our actions.
That decision [to downgrade cannabis in ], in my mind, made it a lot easier for people to excuse their own bad behaviour. Using the classification system to 'send out a message' is a blunt and questionable approach, particularly if it risks undermining Bob is a year-old IT worker who lives in a town on the Kent coast and has been using cannabis for 26 years.
He says he smokes "five to 25" joints a day. That seems the establishment's preferred option. The fact that I'm considered a criminal is, I think, a fundamental breach of my human rights. Most Popular Now 56, people are reading stories on the site right now. BBC News Updated every minute of every day. One-Minute World News. News Front Page.
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