§ 51. Lord James Douglas-Hamiltonasked the Solicitor-General for Scotland how many cases involving drugs have been and are under investigation in the current year in Lothian region and in Scotland; which age groups are involved; how many prosecutions have been brought; how many convictions there have been; whether this represents an increase on the figures for 1982–83 and for 1983–84; what steps he is taking to deal with this problem; and if he will make a statement.
§ The Solicitor-General for ScotlandThe detailed information sought by my hon. Friend is not readily available. I shall write to him with any such information as can be obtained. Crown Office figures set out in the table below for drugs cases in the High Court of Justiciary in the current year and 1983 indicate a substantial increase in the number of serious cases involving drugs in the current year, both in Lothian and in Scotland generally.
My Department's responsibility lies in the prosecution of drugs cases, not their investigation. To ensure the most effective prosecution of serious drugs cases I held a meeting on 8 October 1984 with Crown counsel and senior officers responsible for drugs cases from the Crown Office, procurator fiscal service, all the Scottish police forces, Customs and Excise and forensic Science laboratories, at which practical aspects of the preparation and prosecution of these cases were discussed. The meeting was very useful and I am confident that the already high conviction rate in such cases shown in the table will be maintained.
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Drugs cases in the High Court of Justiciary 1983–84 Total cases indicted *Total cases dealt with Cases in which conviction Cases remitted for sentence 1983 Scotland 30 30 27 4 Lothian 8 8 7 — 1984 Scotland 122 99 94 4 Lothian 38 30 29 — * To 30 November 1984.