CHILDREN NO LONGER FACE AUTOMATIC ARREST FOR CANNABIS
POSSESSION

Children Caught in Possession of Cannabis Will No Longer
Automatically Be Arrested.

Legal changes aimed at making arrests "compliant" with human rights
legislation have led police to scrapping the old guidelines,
prompting accusations of a "dangerous signal" being sent to
youngsters about drugs.

After cannabis was down-graded from a Class B to a non-arrestable
Class C drug three years ago, police chiefs successfully lobbied the
Government to preserve the right of arrest in cases with "aggravating factors."

One such factor was possession by a juvenile - aged 17 and under, but
over 10. Officers were told by the Association of Chief Police
Officers (Acpo) to arrest under-17s found in possession so they could
be dealt with under a system of cautions, reprimands and final
warnings available under anti-crime and disorder legislation.

However, the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act (Socpa), which
came into force last year, empowered officers to arrest for any
suspected offence as long as they could justify the detention as
"necessary" and proportionate. This "necessity test" reflected the
provisions of the 1998 Human Rights Act, which incorporated European
human rights law into English law.

Acpo has now replaced the previous guidance that juvenile possession
should lead to automatic arrest with advice that it "may" lead to
arrest if necessary.

The guidance states: "Consideration should be given to less intrusive
means if possible such as taking the young person home, verifying
their name and address and referring the case for a disposal decision."

The shadow Home Secretary, David Davis, said: "This is a dangerous
signal to send young people about what is a dangerous drug. Today's
cannabis is 10 times stronger than it was 20 years ago. It can cause
serious mental illness."