§ Mr. Altonasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the number of stops under section 23(2) of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 and the resultant arrests for drug offences in the Metropolitan police district of those aged (a) 16 years and under, (b) 17 to 18 years and (c) 19 to 21 years for the most recent year for which statistics are available.
§ Mr. Giles ShawI understand from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis that the readily available information may be subject to some error as it is compiled from information recorded in station registers for operational purposes which is unsuitable for the preparation of statistical summaries. It shows 16,576 stops under section 23(2) of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 in the Metropolitan police district in 1983. Information on arrests resulting from these stops does not separately identify' arrests for drug offences, nor are there any centrally collected statistics by age of person stopped.