HC Deb 18 May 1984 vol 60 cc276-7W
Mr. Kilroy-Silk

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the number of persons prosecuted for drug offences, by sex and category of offence, in each of the last 10 years.

Mr. Mellor

The information requested is given in the following table. Figures for 1983 are not available.

Type of offence 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982
Unlawful possession
Male ‡12,463 10,104 9,490 10,032 10,117 10,968 11,140 12,945 13,935 16,118
Female ‡2,020 1,617 1,508 1,652 1,647 1,648 1,712 1,979 1,954 2,127
Total ‡14,483 11,721 10,998 11,684 11,764 12,616 12,852 14,924 15,889 18,245
Permitting premises to be used for unlawful purposes
Male 548 409 325 334 290 295 310 310 240 229
Female 159 112 121 108 91 94 90 95 87 81
Total 707 521 446 442 381 389 400 405 327 310
Other Drugs Act offences
Male 37 79 136 115 183 183 188 239 303 362
Female 3 10 20 25 16 38 17 41 29 45
Total 40 89 156 140 199 221 205 280 332 407
All Drugs Act offences
Male 12,864 10,580 10,036 10,672 10,914 11,654 11,990 14,427 15,306 17,555
Female 2,116 1,717 1,626 1,791 1,818 1,814 1,917 2,320 2,252 2,387
Total 14,980 12,297 11,662 12,463 12,732 13,468 13,907 16,747 17,558 19,942
Unlawful import or export
Male 320 362 464 546 763 730 936 1,089 1,245 1,044
Female 65 69 73 123 119 131 124 204 245 219
Total 385 431 537 669 882 861 1,060 1,293 1,490 1,263
Other offences involving controlled drugs
Male 587 724 662 544 415 438 360 358 345 269
Female 146 134 139 119 95 85 73 67 77 66
Total 733 858 801 663 510 523 433 425 422 335
All drugs offences
Male 13,357 1,148 10,615 11,347 11,688 12,489 13,010 15,584 16,559 18,617
Female 2,255 1,846 1,742 1,945 1,970 1,974 2,062 2,546 2,522 2,622
Total 15,612 12,994 12,357 13,292 13,658 14,463 15,072 18,130 19,081 21,239
* As the same person may be proceeded against for more than one offence, rows cannot be added together to produce totals.
† This offence was introduced by the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, which came into force on 1 July 1973.
‡ Includes offences of procuring drugs committed before 1 July 1973 when the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 came into force.