§ Ms Colquhounasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the annual prison population for the years 1970 to 1978 convicted of (a) offences concerning cannabis alone, (b) offences concerning cannabis and other controlled drugs, and (c) offences concerning other controlled drugs alone; and what is the annual cost in prison resources of the imprisonment of these offenders.
§ Mr. Merlyn ReesThe information requested is not available. The table below shows the number of receptions under sentence for drug offences in 1970 to 1976:
Receptions under sentence for drug offences Year Total 1970 802 1971 978 1972 1,080 1973 997 1974 1,044 1975 1,147 1976 1,089 Corresponding figures for 1977 are not yet available.
The annual cost of keeping persons in prison convicted of specific offences is not separately recorded. In 1975–76, the last financial year for which full details 565W are available, the overall average annual cost for each prisoner was £4,055.
§ Ms Colquhounasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the annual number of prosecutions for 1974, 1975, 1976 and 1977 and the annual number of convictions under the drug laws relating to offences concerning cannabis only, offences concerning cannabis
PERSONS PROCEEDED AGAINST FOR OFFENCES UNDER DRUGS LEGISLATION AND OTHER OFFENCES WHERE DRUGS WERE ALSO INVOLVED: BY RESULT UNITED KINGDOM Number of persons Proceeded against Found guilty Type of drug 1974 1975 1976 1974 1975 1976 Cannabis alone or with other controlled drugs … … … 9,973 9,487 10,410 9,237 8,837 9,744 Controlled drugs other than cannabis … … … … 3,021 2,870 2,882 2,900 2,766 2,738 The information requested in the second part of the Question is not available.
§ Ms Colquhounasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what is the annual cost of police and Her Majesty's Customs and Excise resources in investigating and prosecuting under the drugs laws;
(2) what is the total number of (a) officers of Her Majesty's Customs and Excise and (b) police officers assigned to drugs squads employed in investigations and prosecutions under the drugs laws.
§ Mr. Merlyn ReesQuestions about Her Majesty's Customs and Excise are for my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer. So far as the numbers of police officers and the police costs are concerned, this information is not available centrally, and could be obtained only at disproportionate expense.