Drugs (Hansard, 17 July 1989)

§ Mr. Barry Field
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the initiatives he has taken to improve liaison and co-operation between United Kingdom police forces and Her Majesty's Customs anti-drugs units.

§ Mr. Douglas Hogg
The relationship between the police and customs services is very good. In 1988, regional crime squad drug wings mounted over 40 joint operations with customs. The drugs intelligence steering group keeps under review the drugs enforcement strategy and the effectiveness of liaison between police and customs. The national drugs intelligence unit is manned by police and customs officers and provides an essential link between the two enforcement services.

Mr. Alan W. Williams
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the number of British citizens with criminal records for the possession of cannabis.

§ Mr. John Patten
Records are not kept in this form. The number of persons found guilty, cautioned or dealt with by compounding for the unlawful possession of cannabis in each of the years 1977 to 1987 is published in table 2.3 of the Home Office statistical bulletin issue 25/88 "Statistics of the Misuse of Drugs, United Kingdom, 1987", a copy of which is in the Library.