cannabisnews.com: Met Plan To Extend Softly, Softly Drug Scheme Met Plan To Extend Softly, Softly Drug Scheme Posted by FoM on February 08, 2002 at 22:04:30 PT By Nick Hopkins, Crime Correspondent Source: Guardian Unlimited Secret plans to roll out a controversial cannabis scheme across London are being drawn up after a study found it saved officers and staff in one borough more than 2,500 hours and led to a 19% increase in arrests of class A drug dealers, the Guardian can reveal. A report into a six-month pilot project in Lambeth, south London, due to be published next week, will show that a more relaxed attitude to policing of the drug gave the borough the equivalent of two extra full-time officers. Early analysis of a Mori poll of 2,000 people living in Lambeth has also shown that the community supports the scheme. The full results of the poll, which was commissioned by the Police Foundation as part of its own review of the scheme, are expected to be revealed at the end of the month. Encouraged by the findings, the Metropolitan police commissioner, Sir John Stevens, has asked a senior officer, deputy assistant commissioner Mike Fuller, to draw up plans for rolling out the scheme to boroughs across the capital. The apparent success of the project and the favourable reaction of the community will also bolster the position of the home secretary, David Blunkett, who wants to press ahead with plans to reclassify cannabis from a class B to a class C drug. This will mean that the police lose the power to arrest people for simple possession. Though the Police Federation said last month that the south London project was being abused by drug users who were flooding into the area, Lambeth's commander, Brian Paddick, is understood to be contempuous of the claim. Fred Broughton, federation chairman, told a Home Office select committee that there was anecdotal evidence from officers to suggest that the scheme had not saved any time, yet the independent consultants who compiled the report on behalf of the Met will say next week that this is not supported by their findings. All officers in Lambeth were asked to fill out a questionnaire about the scheme, but only 6% of the local force bothered to do so. Senior Met officers believe this shows that officers in Lambeth have few genuine concerns about the impact of the scheme. The Met introduced the initiative in Lambeth last July to reduce the time spent processing minor cannabis offences so officers could focus efforts on tackling crack cocaine and other class A drug users and dealers. Under the scheme, people caught with cannabis are given on-the-spot warnings, rather than being cautioned, arrested and possibly charged. According to the study, a total of 1,350 hours of police officers' time were saved in six months. It estimates that three hours was saved every time a warning was issued instead of an arrest. The report says that an additional 1,168 hours of police support staff time was saved by not having to process cannabis prosecutions through the borough's criminal justice unit. The study found that officers seized more cannabis during the six months than they did in the same period the year before. Police believe that the rise is due to the increase in the number of officers on the streets, and because the scheme offers "a practical alternative to arrest or turning a 'blind eye'." The number of arrests for dealing cannabis rose by 11% "suggesting dealers found with larger amounts ... who are excluded from the warning scheme, may have been targeted by officers". Some officers interviewed for the report were worried that the reduction in cannabis arrests meant that opportunities to gather intelligence on suspects, such as DNA samples and fingerprints, were being lost. A draft document, leaked to the Guardian, says the Met will argue that it "has caught more people with cannabis, confiscated more cannabis and warned more people for cannabis than ever before". Note: Relaxed attitude towards minor offenders during cannabis project in Lambeth saves police time and brings increase in arrests of dealers. Special Report: Drugs in Britain -- http://www.guardian.co.uk/drugs/0,2759,178206,00.htmlSource: Guardian Unlimited, The (UK)Author: Nick Hopkins, Crime CorrespondentPublished: Saturday, February 9, 2002Copyright: 2002 Guardian Newspapers LimitedContact: letters guardian.co.ukWebsite: http://www.guardian.co.uk/Related Articles:Threat of Police Revolt Over Cannabis Policy http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread11956.shtml'Cannabis Leniency is Attracting Hard Drugs' http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread11819.shtmlBritish Cops Issue Marijuana Reporthttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread11818.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #4 posted by Jose Melendez on February 09, 2002 at 05:04:02 PT: Arrest Prohibition Brian Paddick is a hero. So is David Borden of DRCnet.org Read on: Fromhttp://www.drcnet.org/wol/223.html#hatemongering it is true that buying drugs on the illicit market does help to fuel a wide range of unsavory activity both within and without our borders. It would be morally one-dimensional to deny this. But if the individual user of heroin or cocaine does help to "kidnap people" or "murder families" -- grotesque hyperbole at best -- the government has effectively facilitated all such violence. It is the government that prohibits drugs, and it is only this illegality that causes drug money to be associated with violence any more than regular money. Arrest Prohibition - Drug War is TREASON [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by goneposthole on February 09, 2002 at 04:55:27 PT alcohol Have you ever seen anyone who after 30 years or so of drinking alcohol not look like they are about ready for the grave?A staggering, red faced, drooling reduced to an idiot status human being is all you see.From the age of 20 to the age of 50 drinking each and every day until they are unable to stop because they cannot. Truly an addiction, for what it's worth, it is an addiction not worth pondering to have.In and out of the drunk tank to try to stop an addiction that has no bounds, it just 'ain't gonna' happen. As soon as they walk out of the door of the treatment facility, they go and buy a six pack and a bottle of brandy.Thin, a liver shrunk and hard as an inflated football all from alcohol abuse, a literal skeleton of what they once were is what you see. It is not a pretty sight. Booze sucks, man. It's ok to have all of the problems, it's legal, man. What a crock of ....... After 30 years of eating or smoking cannabis, a person is going to still be healthy, guaranteed.Cannabis stops those cravings and gives hope for the addict. Maybe that is why it is illegal.No, not maybe, that is why it is illegal. What a crock. [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by E_Johnson on February 08, 2002 at 23:42:23 PT The lovely English language Though the Police Federation said last month that the south London project was being abused by drug users who were flooding into the area, Lambeth's commander, Brian Paddick, is understood to be contempuous of the claim.That's my smile of the day!He's understood to be contemptuous of the claim.It's nice to see the idea of "contempt" being used in this context.Indeed, coping with contemptuous claims is a big part of the marijuana reform burden.Welcome to the contemptuous claim copers club, Brian Paddick! [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by p4me on February 08, 2002 at 22:42:26 PT This is a different song... than the article that follows this one. What happenned to the police riots and drug dealers thumbing their noses at the police that appears in the next article down.The tyrannical laws are easing on MJ and the world is better for it. If only the government would quit lying about marijuana not having medicinal value. It is cruel thing the politicians are doing to the sick and dying because they are afraid of slippery slopes. It is a cruel thing they are doing to anyone who smokes cannabis. How ironic is it that the biggest problem we have with drugs in this country is alcohol and the politicians want to keep the best alternative to drinking illegal. Isn't marijuana the best medicine to break alcohol addiction? That is if you could plant your own seeds and not pay $90 to see a doctor and $200 an ounce. No cost and no harmful side effects (side effects people pay money for.) The change is there but it is too slow for the sick. To deny the sick marijuana is all but criminal. The money they use fighting MJ would be much better served on treatment for the alcoholics. The government's drug policy is a sad joke that not only punishes people that should not be punished. It does not help the ones that really need help and alcoholics are the number one group.VAAI [ Post Comment ] Post Comment