POLICE REJECT TOUGHER ACTION ON CANNABIS

Brown Plan to Upgrade Drug Will Not Change 'Confiscate and Warn' Stance

Police will not adopt a tougher approach to cases of simple
possession of cannabis when ministers upgrade the legal status of the
drug to class B, the Guardian can disclose. The Association of Chief
Police Officers (Acpo) confirmed last night that the current policy
of "confiscate and warn" would continue, despite Gordon Brown's
determination to reclassify the drug in an attempt to "send a tough
message" to young people about its use.

Chief constables are debating whether or not fixed penalty fines
should be available alongside cannabis warnings. But the basic
approach of saving police time by not making an arrest and taking the
offender to the police station to be charged, introduced four years
ago, will remain.

Before cannabis was downgraded to class C in 2004, 58% of possession
cases formally dealt with by police ended in arrest and formal
caution, while 42% were taken to court.

Campaigners for drug law reform last night questioned the relevance
of the drug classification system, which dates back to 1971, and its
ability to send a message.

Roger Howard, chief executive of the UK Drug Policy Commission, and a
former government drugs adviser, said: "There will be no new powers
or resources for policing if cannabis is made class B, and cannabis
warnings can still be issued instead of arrest."

He said this underlined the muddle at the heart of government over
the purpose of a drug classification system which was unlikely ever
to be able to "send a message to young people". Since cannabis had
moved from class B to class C, the number of schoolchildren who think
it is fine to try cannabis had halved, he said.

It is expected that Acpo guidance to police officers will use
different language from existing guidelines to stress the discretion
that is available to constables to take more robust action in cases
involving repeat offenders or aggravating factors such as disorder or
evidence of organised crime.

An Acpo spokesman last night: "The key will be the discretion for
officers to strike the right balance. We do not want to criminalise
young people who are experimenting." However, he stressed that cases
involving "aggravating factors" were more likely to see an arrest and
prosecution.

When the police announced their support for regrading cannabis as a
class B drug this year, Simon Byrne, Merseyside's assistant chief
constable and the Acpo lead on policing cannabis, entered a
little-noticed but crucial caveat to the police position. He said
that since cannabis had been downgraded there had been growing
concerns over increased potency, the rise of "homegrown" cannabis
farms and a perception that its legal status meant it was seen as a
low policing priority.

But he added that the police had supported the decision to downgrade
the drug four years ago because of "the disproportionate time spent
by frontline police officers in dealing with offenders in possession
of small amounts of cannabis for personal use. Should the decision be
taken to reclassify cannabis to a class B, Acpo believes the service
should retain this flexibility in dealing with instances of
possession on the street, including the discretion to issue warnings
in appropriate circumstances".

The 2005 Serious and Organised Crime and Policing Act introduced new
criteria for making an arrest which emphasised that it had to be
necessary because, for example, the officer doubted whether he had
been given a real name or a valid address by the offender. The number
of cannabis warnings issued has spiralled to more than 100,000 since
its legal status was downgraded; that forms an important part of the
ability of the police to meet their national target for the number of
offences brought to justice.

In legal terms, the move back to class B means the maximum prison
sentence for possession will be increased from two to five years.