PROSECUTORS SPLIT OVER PROCEDURE IN MINOR DRUG OFFENCES

Proposed Legislation Would Impose Fines On Minor Offenders

Finnish prosecutors take differing attitudes on how to deal with
small scale offences involving the use of illegal drugs.

Currently it is the prosecutor that decides whether or not to press
charges against someone who has brought a few grammes of marijuana
from abroad, or who injects amphetamines on his living room sofa.
Some prosecutors take a line of zero tolerance and would like to
bring every case to trial as a matter of principle, while others
would be willing to drop charges in minor cases.

Helsingin Sanomat conducted a survey of Finnish local prosecutors,
asking them what they would do in ten different hypothetical cases.
There was considerable variation in the answers.

The prosecutors themselves admit that there is considerable variation
in practice, and that practice should be more uniform. On the other
hand, not all felt that the variation in practice was a bad thing,
pointing out that in small community, punishment has a greater
deterrent effect.

It is likely that in a couple of years, small scale drug offences
will be prosecuted more than before: prosecutors will be allowed to
impose "day fines" in cases of personal use similar to those imposed
for traffic violations. This practice is outlined in a proposal by
the Ministry of Justice for new legislation. Present law stipulates
that cases of personal use should not normally be prosecuted without
special reason.

More than half of Finland's 240 local prosecutors answered the
questionnaire sent by Helsingin Sanomat. Most of the respondents were
in favour of simplifying procedure in cases of personal drug use.

"Current practice has been far too bureaucratic. One gramme of drugs
has led to hundreds of grammes of paper", says one prosecutor from
Finland's west coast.

Another prosecutor from the west coast says that the new practice
would have the benefit of freeing up resources of the system of
justice to deal with larger cases.

The proposed new law has met with some controversy. At a recent
public hearing, some experts were concerned that the proposed law
would mean that many minor offences that had previously been left
unpunished, would have to be prosecuted. Others felt that a simple
fine would give users "the wrong message", suggesting that society
does not take drug use seriously enough.

Current law stipulates, that the import, possession, and manufacture
of an illegal drug for personal use can be left unpunished, if the
act involved is not one that tends to weaken public morals. The new
law would overturn this paragraph, which Finnish prosecutors have
found difficult to apply.

Kauko Aromaa, head of research at Finland's National Research
Institute of Legal Policy, says the new procedure would mean that a
larger share of those caught for using drugs would be sentenced for
their crimes.

"The dropping of charges has been most typically applied to youthful
offenders and young adults whose drug use has been occasional, or who
have been found with small amounts in their possession. In the
future, they would probably be the ones to whom the new fine system
would be applied", Aromaa says.

The Ministry of Justice wants to lighten the burden of Finland's
prosecutors. Under the system, a full court hearing would not be
necessary in small scale drug cases.

The Ministry also sees a need for more uniform practice in drug
cases. Now, an offender can have his or her drug charges dropped, or
have to pay a fine, depending on what part of the country is involved.

However, the procedure would not be quite as simple as that of a
simple speeding ticket. Police would still investigate the case to
see if it might provide leads to more serious crimes: the suspect
would be interrogated, and home searches would be possible. If no
evidence of more serious crimes is found, the police could end the
investigation and hand down a fine.

The bill is expected to come before Parliament in November.