§ Mr. LeighTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department by what means he ensures that each police authority follows a consistent policy on cautioning persons for possession of cannabis; and if he will make a statement on the practice of multiple cautioning. [4793]
§ Mr. MichaelIt is for the police to decide whether to caution a person found in possession of a controlled drug, in light of the circumstances of the individual case and in accordance with the guidance on the cautioning of offenders in Home Office Circular 18/1994. Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary examines forces' overall cautioning policy and determines whether the policy is being observed in practice.
In 1995, the Association of Chief Police Officers issued further guidance on cautioning which encourages the use of gravity factors to ensure consistent identification of aggravating and mitigating circumstances in the decision-making process.
The Government intend to tackle the lack of consistency in cautioning and to reduce repeat cautions in respect of all offences. This is why we have pledged to replace repeat cautions with a single final warning for young offenders.
§ Mr. LeighTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the total amount(a) spent and (b) allocated by his Department on tackling problems relating to drugs in respect of (i) improving international co-operation to reduce supplies from abroad, (ii) increasing the effectiveness of police and Customs enforcement, (iii) maintaining effective deterrents and tight domestic controls, (iv) developing prevention publicity, education and community action and (v) improving treatment and rehabilitation, for (1) 1994, (2) 1995, (3) 1996 and (4) 1997. [4784]
§ Mr. George HowarthInformation on total Government and individual Departments' expenditure on tackling drug misuse is not recorded on an annual basis. The most recently available estimates were published in the White Paper, "Tackling Drugs Together" in May 1996. They show that at least £526 million of expenditure in 1993–94 could be directly attributable to drug programmes and activities across the United Kingdom.
The Government will be appointing a "drug czar" to co-ordinate action against drugs, working to the President of the Council as Chair of the Cabinet's co-ordinating committee on drug misuse. One of his or her first tasks will be to review urgently the existing drugs strategy, and put forward proposals for tackling the problem with renewed vigour. This review will include current Government expenditure
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§ Mr. LeighTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list by type of drug the number of persons for each police authority in England and Wales(a) cautioned, (b) proceeded against in a magistrate's court and (c) tried at the Crown Court for possession of a proscribed drug in (i) 1994, (ii) 1995 and (iii) the last 12 month period for which figures are available. [4794]
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Number of persons cautioned for possession of drugs by police force area and type of drug, 19941 Type of drug Police force area All drugs Cocaine Crack Heroin LS MDMA 2Methadone Amphetamines Cannabis Other drugs Avon and Somerset 673 — — 2 1 3 — 34 595 38 Bedfordshire 101 — — 1 — 1 — — 78 22 Cambridgeshire 503 — — — 1 — — 2 501 — Cheshire 937 2 — 19 61 9 — 35 784 27 Cleveland 390 — — — 7 1 — 63 318 4 Cumbria 353 — — 1 3 3 — 5 341 4 Derbyshire 412 — — — 4 3 — 9 264 133 Devon and Cornwall 1,328 4 — 8 7 14 — 107 1,210 45 Dorset 147 1 — — — — — 2 144 — Durham 161 — — — — — — 7 154 — Essex 963 — — 3 6 5 — 60 884 17 Gloucestershire 471 — — 1 2 3 — 9 464 — Greater Manchester 2,540 12 — 135 9 1 — 108 2,230 45 Hampshire 1,476 1 — 2 2 4 — 19 1,458 3 Hertfordshire 536 2 — 2 4 9 — 34 483 2 Humberside 427 — — 1 — 1 — 1 413 12 Kent 782 3 — — 6 2 — 33 738 9 Lancashire 1,268 — 1 14 5 1 — 53 1,194 6 Leicestershire 389 — — — 1 — — 5 382 2 Lincolnshire 223 — — — 1 1 — 12 204 5 Merseyside 904 1 1 6 2 2 — 12 610 278 City of London 372 — — 1 — 12 — 10 350 2 Metropolitan Police 14,010 73 18 66 25 146 — 318 13,446 31 Norfolk 355 1 — 2 — 1 — 15 243 101 Northamptonshire 469 — 1 — — 1 — 10 450 10 Northumbria 1,012 — — 3 12 6 — 62 865 73 North Yorkshire 321 — — — 4 2 — 4 312 3 Nottinghamshire 418 — 1 — 2 — — 17 370 30 South Yorkshire 854 3 2 9 14 2 — 51 787 5 Staffordshire 424 — — — — — — — 424 — Suffolk 649 — — 8 7 5 — 42 585 17 Surrey — — — — — — — — — — Sussex 991 4 — 6 12 7 — 80 911 7 Thames Valley 909 2 — 2 9 10 — 55 834 13 Warwickshire 414 — — — 13 6 — 32 356 8 West Mercia 903 1 — 5 13 2 — 43 840 24 West Midlands 1,852 3 5 13 17 8 — 66 1,633 107 West Yorkshire 667 1 — 14 5 3 — 43 588 18 Wiltshire 483 1 — 5 9 18 — 65 428 14 England 40,087 115 29 329 264 292 — 1,523 36,871 1,115 Dyfed-Powys 546 — — 2 6 3 — 33 506 20 Gwent 509 — — — 1 — — 8 502 — North Wales 948 1 — 19 5 — — 51 862 36 South Wales 512 — — — 1 — — 9 500 2 Wales 2,515 1 — 21 13 3 — 101 2,370 58 England and Wales 42,602 116 29 350 277 295 — 1,624 39,241 1,173 1Columns cannot be added together since a person may be dealt with for more than one type of drug. 2This drug was not separately identified until 1995.
§ Mr. MichaelDetails of the numbers of persons cautioned, proceeded against in a magistrates' court or tried at the Crown court for possession of a controlled drug in 1994 and 1995, by type of drug and police force area, are given in the tables, copies of which have been placed in the Library. Data for 1996 will not be available until the late autumn.
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Number of persons proceeded against at Magistrates' Courts for possession of drugs by police force area and type of drug, 19941 Type of drug Police force area All drugs Cocaine Crack Heroin LSD MDMA 2Methadone Amphetamines Cannabis Other drugs Avon and Somerset 897 29 23 132 47 26 — 217 585 64 Bedfordshire 262 4 1 3 4 4 — 49 223 14 Cambridgeshire 421 11 1 4 11 11 — 119 329 26 Cheshire 1,052 44 — 217 33 39 — 157 721 40 Cleveland 277 2 — 3 16 12 — 125 168 11 Cumbria 696 3 — 21 21 23 — 106 597 60 Derbyshire 432 5 3 23 23 21 — 109 330 10 Devon and Cornwall 843 11 2 32 33 59 — 229 588 110 Dorset 378 12 1 36 15 7 — 67 292 27 Durham 374 3 2 — 22 20 — 132 236 22 Essex 703 30 — 15 18 38 — 147 532 64 Gloucestershire 266 5 — 13 11 10 — 58 227 8 Greater Manchester 2,472 54 30 420 50 43 — 489 1,634 102 Hampshire 1,048 24 — 31 34 40 — 259 831 53 Hertfordshire 523 13 — 12 25 25 — 100 433 3 Humberside 473 10 — 77 23 13 — 105 305 69 Kent 715 15 3 12 17 39 — 141 568 44 Lancashire 951 17 135 42 40 — — 227 660 29 Leicestershire 370 8 5 10 15 8 — 75 293 46 Lincolnshire 430 2 — 9 21 5 — 121 335 9 Merseyside 2,266 77 23 260 41 42 — 227 1,541 294 City of London 78 9 3 3 5 7 — 9 57 — Metropolitan Police 9,846 661 243 740 202 523 — 929 7,576 135 Norfolk 478 3 — 22 8 12 — 111 383 34 Northamptonshire 236 8 — 3 16 10 — 70 172 16 Northumbria 809 17 33 48 55 — — 260 545 66 North Yorkshire 583 4 16 28 22 — — 93 453 54 Nottinghamshire 913 20 — 21 55 19 — 214 655 114 South Yorkshire 1,013 17 9 98 57 59 — 305 690 37 Staffordshire 670 28 4 47 36 36 — 159 481 55 Suffolk 350 7 1 17 8 8 — 59 251 71 Surrey 355 13 1 14 17 22 — 81 295 8 Sussex 918 22 — 37 32 18 — 152 776 58 Thames Valley 1,424 46 8 59 47 76 — 243 1,181 38 Warwickshire 190 3 — 4 6 4 — 41 153 15 West Mercia 428 5 2 15 24 11 — 83 354 26 West Midlands 1,682 54 58 75 61 51 — 260 1,390 62 West Yorkshire 2,452 61 51 308 77 83 — 463 1,803 75 Wiltshire 152 2 — 6 5 5 — 40 107 14 England 38,426 1,359 474 2,983 1,254 1,546 — 6,831 28,750 1,983 Dyfed-Powys 471 39 — 11 32 12 — 97 373 47 Gwent 431 143 2 9 18 2 — 83 216 17 North Wales 736 1 — 39 28 9 — 123 599 58 South Wales 1,250 2 18 45 16 — 254 1,072 63 Wales 2,888 185 2 77 123 39 — 557 2,260 185 England and Wales 41,314 1,544 476 3,060 1,377 1,585 — 7,388 31,010 2,168 1Columns cannot be added together since a person may be dealt with for more than one type of drug. 2This drug was not separately identified until 1995.
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Number of persons tried at the Crown Court for possession of drugs by police force area and type of drug, 19941 Type of drug Police force area All drugs Cocaine Crack Heroin LSD MDMA 2Methadone Amphetamines Cannabis Other drugs Avon and Somerset 185 9 — 12 25 16 — 67 129 24 Bedfordshire 33 — — 2 1 1 — 10 30 2 Cambridgeshire 91 2 — 5 6 9 — 35 68 6 Cheshire 154 7 — 22 3 7 — 18 52 77 Cleveland 60 1 — — 6 9 — 24 42 3 Cumbria 89 3 — — 7 8 8 26 61 9 Derbyshire 87 2 — — 3 4 7 24 64 6
Number of persons tried at the Crown Court for possession of drugs by police force area and type of drug, 19941 Type of drug Police force area All drugs Cocaine Crack Heroin LSD MDMA 2Methadone Amphetamines Cannabis Other drugs Devon and Cornwall 140 3 — 7 9 13 — 46 97 19 Dorset 41 2 6 3 2 — 5 30 Durham 47 — — — 6 7 — 22 31 2 Essex 94 9 — 9 4 11 — 15 54 21 Gloucestershire 28 3 — 4 2 2 — 7 23 4 Greater Manchester 381 20 5 86 15 16 — 102 223 12 Hampshire 153 8 — 8 10 17 — 52 118 8 Hertfordshire 32 1 — 2 2 5 — 4 23 — Humberside 73 1 1 14 6 3 — 21 37 17 Kent 109 2 — 1 13 8 — 40 77 11 Lancashire 210 5 3 42 13 11 — 76 124 3 Leicestershire 63 3 2 1 6 5 — 24 43 6 Lincolnshire 66 — — 2 5 6 — 24 50 5 Merseyside 183 18 3 34 4 6 — 35 104 28 City of London 8 2 — — — — — — 6 — Metropolitan Police 1,109 212 31 130 43 57 — 133 652 57 Norfolk 67 2 — 3 2 5 — 28 48 7 Northamptonshire 52 1 — — 3 1 — 17 39 1 Northumbria 176 7 — 6 25 17 — 69 106 22 North Yorkshire 88 — — 2 8 4 — 23 76 4 Nottinghamshire 154 11 — 6 23 12 — 56 116 4 South Yorkshire 160 6 1 17 19 16 — 72 95 2 Staffordshire 128 16 — 7 11 11 — 39 76 16 Suffolk 67 2 — 5 8 6 — 24 49 1 Surrey 54 6 — 1 6 6 — 18 40 5 Sussex 107 14 1 6 6 17 — 34 78 6 Thames Valley 111 10 — 4 10 18 — 37 84 5 Warwickshire 18 — — — 2 1 — 3 14 1 West Mercia 53 — I 10 2 4 — 12 35 1 West Midlands 257 22 2 16 31 15 — 54 196 6 West Yorkshire 396 19 8 73 35 14 — 125 250 13 Wiltshire 13 — — — — 2 — 3 6 4 England 5,337 429 58 553 385 375 — 1,424 3,446 418 Dyfed-Powys 35 1 — 3 2 2 — 9 27 8 Gwent 47 — — 6 1 2 — 9 35 4 North Wales 62 — — 8 4 2 — 15 47 4 South Wales 186 4 — 6 21 5 — 57 143 29 Wales 330 5 — 23 28 11 — 90 252 45 England and Wales 5,667 434 58 576 413 386 — 1,514 3,698 463 Notes:
1Columns cannot be added together since a person may be dealt with for more than one type of drug.
2This drug was not separately identified until 1995.
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Number of persons tried at the Crown Court for possession of drugs by police force area and type of drug, 19941 Type of drug Police force area All drugs Cocaine Crack Heroin LSD MDMA Methadone Amphetamines Cannabis Other drugs Avon and Somerset 313 — 10 1 1 — 18 282 1 Hertfordshire 105 2 — 1 — — — — 94 8 Cambridgeshire 388 1 — 1 — — — 4 384 — Cheshire 665 2 — 28 1 10 1 26 590 7 Cleveland 490 — — 3 1 6 — 38 418 29 Cumbria 352 — — 2 2 5 — 20 327 3 Derbyshire 587 — — — — 7 — 37 478 72 Devon and Cornwall 1,354 1 — 20 5 25 — 152 1,194 22 Dorset 198 — — 1 — — — — 197 — Durham 239 — — — — 2 — 23 217 — Essex 991 7 — 14 4 7 — 87 903 6 Gloucestershire 654 4 — 1 3 3 — 49 612 3 Greater Manchester 2,604 12 5 244 10 28 1 242 2,032 30
Number of persons cautioned for possession of drugs by police area and type of drug, 19951 Type of drugs Police force area All drugs Cocaine Crack Heroin LSD MDMA Methadone Amphetamines Cannabis Other drugs Hampshire 1,218 1 — 3 2 4 — 19 1,195 2 Hertfordshire 515 2 — — — 19 — 40 453 2 Humberside 322 — — 3 — — — 12 304 6 Kent 713 16 1 1 1 3 — 20 672 6 Lancashire 1,530 2 — 42 12 11 — 91 1,365 19 Leicestershire 348 — — — — — — 8 341 1 Lincolnshire 278 — — — 1 — — 33 238 6 Merseyside 1,136 9 1 15 1 8 — 49 831 237 City of London 636 9 — 2 1 39 1 41 545 2 Metropolitan Police 15,483 147 40 174 36 337 — 562 14,298 113 Norfolk 702 — — 4 1 21 — 89 513 118 Northamptonshire 554 — — — 1 — — 6 540 10 Northumbria 1,691 — — 13 3 30 — 158 1,236 275 North Yorkshire 332 — — 6 1 — — 14 315 1 Nottinghamshire 448 — — 1 2 2 — 19 398 27 South Yorkshire 862 1 — 13 1 14 — 78 763 7 Staffordshire 520 — 1 1 1 — 33 478 6 Suffolk 630 1 — 10 3 20 — 54 544 13 Surrey 264 — — — — — — 14 251 3 Sussex 1,142 10 — 18 6 5 — 104 1,034 10 Thames Valley 816 2 — 2 — 22 — 74 740 15 Warwickshire 569 2 — 2 6 26 — 53 471 9 West Mercia 999 1 — 13 3 15 — 84 897 22 West Midlands 1,702 2 4 7 8 13 — 73 1,530 66 West Yorkshire 811 3 — 15 4 17 — 57 707 13 Wiltshire 302 1 — 3 3 2 — 18 277 1 England 43,463 238 51 673 124 703 3 2,499 38,664 1,175 Dyfed-Powys 576 — — — 5 13 — 45 513 28 Gwent 516 — — — 1 — — 5 510 3 North Wales 975 — — 22 3 — — 63 879 41 South Wales 648 — — 1 12 3 — 47 589 5 Wales 2,716 — — 23 21 16 — 160 2,491 77 England and Wales 46,178 238 51 696 145 719 8 2,659 41,155 1,252 1Columns cannot be added together since a person may be dealt with for more than one type of drug.
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Number of persons proceeded against at Magistrates' Courts for possession of drugs by police force area and type of drug, 19951 Type of drug Police force area All drugs Cocaine Crack Heroin LSD MDMA Methadone Amphetamines Cannabis Other drugs Avon and Somerset 1,066 152 21 188 17 48 2 189 649 80 Bedfordshire 393 5 — 10 6 13 — 71 345 26 Cambridgeshire 397 13 1 8 7 20 — 87 229 134 Cheshire 1,241 35 — 294 24 55 3 176 879 40 Cleveland 293 2 — 11 12 40 — 103 176 18 Cumbria 662 5 5 34 6 59 2 126 487 60 Derbyshire 530 3 — 17 17 39 — 164 397 20 Devon and Cornwall 1,084 15 2 55 28 67 — 256 706 205 Dorset 527 14 2 62 19 20 — 104 377 29 Durham 457 1 — 1 17 40 — 143 323 21 Essex 753 20 1 36 18 38 — 158 561 94 Gloucestershire 367 5 — 30 7 25 — 84 295 10 Greater Manchester 2,833 55 28 574 46 113 7 558 1,825 89 Hampshire 1,316 17 — 48 29 63 — 292 1,030 96 Hertfordshire 599 19 — 33 15 48 — 109 505 9 Humberside 643 10 1 103 14 20 — 142 399 106 Kent 660 9 1 24 11 11 — 131 506 49 Lancashire 1,409 17 7 232 33 63 1 308 945 77 Leicestershire 505 10 7 13 22 19 — 142 391 29 Lincolnshire 425 — — 4 11 24 — 116 319 28 Merseyside 2,354 89 29 283 21 79 3 192 1,627 278 City of London 164 15 — 4 6 23 — 27 125 2
Number of persons proceeded against at Magistrates' Courts for possession of drugs by police area and type of drug, 19951 Type of drugs Police force area All drugs Cocaine Crack Heroin LSD MDMA Methadone Amphetamines Cannabis Other drugs Metropolitan Police 8,481 652 250 834 124 554 3 779 6,242 139 Norfolk 560 4 9 15 5 10 — 83 500 19 Northamptonshire 272 7 — 13 9 9 — 72 195 27 Northumbria 825 8 — 13 14 46 — 108 370 377 North Yorkshire 569 3 1 31 14 20 — 108 450 33 Nottinghamshire 1,066 27 1 29 22 41 — 246 784 122 South Yorkshire 1,386 11 26 237 25 96 8 357 885 37 Staffordshire 818 22 7 115 18 66 2 153 536 71 Suffolk 432 13 — 34 7 26 — 92 323 40 Surrey 414 15 3 23 12 29 1 65 356 9 Sussex 993 43 7 78 28 26 — 224 808 60 Thames Valley 1,605 50 10 99 41 150 — 280 1,250 36 Warwickshire 199 1 — — 7 3 — 45 162 22 West Mercia 617 5 1 21 27 33 — 130 507 35 West Midlands 1,649 41 40 97 32 85 — 288 1,354 55 West Yorkshire 2,720 55 17 548 30 122 — 473 1,807 129 Wiltshire 171 7 — 7 5 12 — 38 120 22 England 41,455 1,475 477 4,258 806 2,255 32 7,219 29,745 2,733 Dyfed-Powys 648 45 — 7 19 47 — 147 512 47 Gwent 478 62 3 14 13 18 — 148 295 22 North Wales 777 8 2 52 20 14 — 167 607 58 South Wales 1,484 8 — 25 52 44 1 379 1,234 64 Wales 3,387 123 5 98 104 123 1 841 2,648 191 England and Wales 44,842 1,598 482 4,356 910 2,378 33 8,060 32,393 2,924 1Columns cannot be added together since a person may be dealt with for more than one type of drug.
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Number of persons tried at the Crown Court for possession of drugs by police force area and type of drug, 19951 Type of drug Police force area All drugs Cocaine Crack Heroin LSD MDMA Methadone Amphetamines Cannabis Other drugs Avon and Somerset 164 14 4 19 9 12 — 31 111 27 Bedfordshire 58 2 1 1 5 — 9 46 5 Cambridgeshire 91 3 2 1 — 5 8 37 67 11 Cheshire 255 8 1 39 7 17 — 49 127 72 Cleveland 81 2 — 4 6 9 — 32 38 14 Cumbria 62 1 — 5 2 9 — 21 40 9 Derbyshire 126 2 — 5 8 17 — 48 79 20 Devon and Cornwall 148 7 — 7 5 16 — 44 100 15 Dorset 71 5 — 6 3 6 — 14 49 4 Durham 56 2 — — 4 10 — 22 31 7 Essex 167 11 — 5 9 25 — 51 114 20 Gloucestershire 48 3 — 4 — 4 — 18 36 3 Greater Manchester 537 38 12 126 16 30 — 128 321 25 Hampshire 189 5 — 2 5 16 — 42 147 25 Hertfordshire 77 8 — 4 3 10 — 14 49 13 Humberside 142 5 1 27 6 8 — 40 77 28 Kent 146 4 2 10 5 8 — 37 96 19 Lancashire 258 11 — 37 10 22 — 78 163 15 Leicestershire 62 — — — 5 5 — 18 53 6 Lincolnshire 72 1 — — 3 5 — 32 54 8 Merseyside 275 35 9 40 17 23 — 58 153 18 City of London 13 4 — 1 1 2 — 1 10 Metropolitan Police 1,216 179 66 154 40 120 2 133 735 113 Norfolk 91 3 — 9 8 9 — 20 63 12 Northamptonshire 48 — — 2 1 2 — 15 32 5 Nurthumbria 178 4 — 8 10 30 — 74 105 22 North Yorkshire 94 1 — 6 8 11 — 21 68 11 Nottinghamshire 185 7 2 9 14 11 — 57 119 17 South Yorkshire 209 5 2 42 11 20 — 73 121 18
Number of persons tried at the Crown Court for possession of drugs by police force area and type of drug, 19951 Type of drug Police force area All drugs Cocaine Crack Heroin LSD MDMA Methadone Amphetamines Cannabis Other drugs Staffordshire 164 10 3 29 9 22 — 44 100 32 Suffolk 98 8 — 8 2 15 — 42 72 9 Surrey 101 4 1 6 3 8 — 21 81 17 Sussex 148 18 — 9 4 21 — 44 114 18 Thames Valley 194 23 9 19 16 40 — 58 119 15 Warwickshire 31 1 — — 2 2 — 10 23 4 West Mercia 86 6 2 3 5 10 — 17 67 14 West Midlands 308 31 6 25 18 26 — 77 215 27 West Yorkshire 468 30 10 70 23 37 — 114 303 45 Wiltshire 32 1 — — 4 7 — 10 18 9 England 6,749 502 133 741 308 658 2 1,654 4,316 752 Dyfed-Powys 47 — — — 6 5 — 12 39 8 Gwent 64 — 1 4 4 4 — 19 45 11 North Wales 87 — 1 10 10 9 — 32 58 7 South Wales 215 4 — 5 29 9 — 79 170 26 Wales 413 4 2 19 49 27 — 142 312 52 England and Wales 7.162 506 135 760 357 685 2 1,796 4,628 804 1Columns cannot be added together since a person may be dealt with for more than one type of drug.