LONDON'S DRUGS EXPERIMENT WINS RESIDENTS' SUPPORT

A police scheme in which people possessing cannabis are given only a verbal
warning has won the overwhelming backing of the residents in the area where
it is being piloted.

More than 80 per cent of people questioned in the south London borough of
Lambeth, which includes Brixton, said they supported the liberal approach
to cannabis.

The Metropolitan Police and the Home Office are to continue monitoring the
scheme at least until June before deciding whether to make the policy
permanent and extend it to other areas.

The architect of the experiment, Commander Brian Paddick, has been moved
from his job as head of the Lambeth division while allegations that he
smoked cannabis "which he denies" and allowed a former boyfriend to
take the drug in his flat are investigated.

Under the scheme, which began last July, officers can give a verbal warning
for the possession of small amounts for personal use. About 450 people have
been warned.

The initiative is aimed at freeing officers to focus on harder drugs, such
as heroin and crack cocaine. This appears to be working in Lambeth, as the
latest figures show a 35 per cent increase in recorded drug possession
offences and an 11 per cent increase in trafficking offences. In contrast,
possession offences fell by 4 per cent and trafficking offences by 34 per
cent in adjoining boroughs.

Only 8 per cent of residents questioned disapproved of the initiative, the
Police Foundation study discovered; 36 per cent supported it outright, and
47 per cent gave it conditional support.

Sir John Stevens, the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, said
yesterday that the project had saved 1,350 hours of police time in six
months a " almost the equivalent of two extra officers. In addition, 1,150
hours of criminal justice unit time had been freed.

Asked about the impact of the scheme, 74 per cent of the 2,055 people
interviewed agreed that the police would redirect resources into serious
crime, and 29 per cent thought the scheme would lead to a decrease in
serious crime; 45 per cent, however, believed it would make no difference.

More white residents (41 per cent) than black (28 per cent) or Asian (25
per cent) supported the scheme.

A national survey on the scheme earlier this year found that 76 per cent of
adults questioned approved of it. Critics have accused the police of going
soft on drugs, while supporters believe it is a more progressive approach
that makes better uses of resources.

There has been some misunderstanding about the scheme, according to Deputy
Assistant Commissioner Mike Fuller, who has been overseeing the project. He
said: "The public were unclear about what was happening and thought drugs
were being legalised and that wasn't the case. Officers are still seizing
the cannabis."

Only 14 per cent of those polled knew that cannabis was still being
confiscated by the police. The average amount of cannabis confiscated was
3.6 grams for herbal cannabis and 4.9 grams for resin.

Mr Fuller added that there was a problem with juveniles, who previously
would have had their parents brought to the police station rather than just
getting a warning.

"The feeling is that we should involve parents, and that's something that
has to be resolved before we extend it to other boroughs," he said.

Mr Fuller added that it was too early to make a definitive evaluation of
the scheme. "What we want to be confident about is that there will be no
detrimental effects, which is why it should be going at least 12 months,"
he said.

Of the 51 of Lambeth's 860 police officers who responded to an internal
survey, many felt the scheme had made no difference to the way they spent
their time on duty, that it would lead to increased use of cannabis and
Class A drugs and that it should be discontinued. They were also concerned
about losing opportunities to gain intelligence.

William Saulsbury, the Police Foundation's assistant director, who oversaw
the survey, said: "There is strong evidence that a high proportion of
Lambeth residents support the scheme as a rational approach on the part of
the police."

They recognise that such a scheme does not offer a magic wand for reducing
serious crime and use of hard drugs, but they expect, and believe, that the
time saved with the new approach will be put to those ends."

The report was published three days after Commander Paddick was moved to
another post and an inquiry was launched into allegations that he regularly
smoked cannabis. The claims were made by his former partner James
Renolleau, who was paid for his story by a tabloid newspaper.

Speaking yesterday at a meeting of the Metropolitan Police Authority, Sir
John Stevens said: "It's very difficult for Brian, being there in Brixton
with a criminal allegation going on, to carry on with his job. I think that
he has done a great job down there. We will have to await the outcome of
the inquiry."