POLICE EXPERIMENT STARTED SOFTER LINE

LABOUR came to power in 1997 vowing "zero tolerance" towards drugs.
=46or four years, ministers and Keith Hellawell, their drugs "tsar",
held the line against the growing clamour for a more liberal policy
towards cannabis and other soft drugs.

When a Police Foundation inquiry chaired by Dame Ruth Runciman
recommended reclassifying cannabis from a Class B drug to Class C, it
was given short shrift.

Yet David Blunkett, the Home Secretary, did precisely that yesterday
and took the first tentative steps towards decriminalising the
personal use of cannabis. What changed Labour's mind?

The beginnings of a softer line on cannabis can be traced to an
experiment in the south London borough of Lambeth this year. Brian
Paddick, the local police commander, decided there was no longer any
point trying to stop a practice that was now so widespread in an area
that includes Brixton.

Penalising users was proving a huge drain on police resources at a
time when most people wanted more officers on the beat trying to cut
the growing number of street robberies and assaults.

In an area where gun crime is rife, muggings are the worst in Britain
and the crack cocaine trade is flourishing, beat bobbies were tied up
for hours a day on trivial cases of cannabis possession.

A typical case would take officers off the streets for five hours,
cost =A310,000 to bring to court and lead to an average fine of =A345.
Now, instead of arresting users, Lambeth police confiscate the drug
and give an on-the-spot warning, which does not lead to a criminal
record.

Police are no longer required to take offenders to the station, fill
in forms for a formal caution or prepare court action. The Brixton
experiment is to be evaluated at the end of this year and was
expected to be adopted across London.

Mr Blunkett's announcement, however, has pre-empted the assessment
and will serve as a signal to other forces to adopt a similar line.
Labour has always been wary of changing the law but the political
background has changed, with support for liberalisation coming from
the Right and Left.

Last year, the Tories were seen as out of touch when Ann Widdecombe,
then shadow home secretary, said anyone caught with cannabis should
receive an automatic =A3100 fine.

Other senior Tories, however, detected a change in the social
acceptability of the drug, particularly when seven members of the
shadow cabinet admitted to having tried it.

The editorial policy of The Daily Telegraph has been in favour of a
more liberal approach. Sir David Ramsbotham, former chief inspector
of prisons, favoured legalisation of some drugs.

Opinion polls showed growing support for legalisation and some police
were turning a blind eye. It was against this backdrop that Mr
Blunkett chose to act.

He had already softened the previous tough line during the furore
that followed Mr Lilley's comments in July but his announcement to
the Commons home affairs committee yesterday was a surprise none the
less.

Reclassifying cannabis does not make it legal to use. It will remain
a crime with a maximum sentence of two years and five years for
trafficking.

But it will no longer be an arrestable offence to be in possession of
the drug and people found with small amounts are unlikely to end up
with a criminal record.