HC Deb 16 June 2003 vol 407 cc29-30W
24. Paul Flynn

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what changes he estimates there will be in police expenditure in the next financial year following the reclassification of cannabis. [119035]

Violence against the person Sexual offences
Crime and disorder reduction partnerships Note 1 Note 2 Note 3 Note 1 Note 2 Note 3
Camden 5,473 2.7 27.0 416 30.8 2.1
City of London 593 9.4 93.1 33 230.0 5.2
City of Westminster 8,734 3.0 35.7 111 49.3 3.2
Brent 5,688 -1.5 22.3 334 -1.5 1.3
Baling 6,842 6.4 22.0 342 -0.6 1.1
Greenwich 6,257 -0.8 28.7 361 5.2 1.7
Hackney 6,702 6.0 33.0 370 -0.3 1.8
Haringey 5,088 -2.2 22.6 492 14.2 2.2
Islington 5,667 4.1 31.8 347 31.4 1.9
Lambeth 8,232 4.1 29.8 544 -3.0 2.0
Lewisham 5,501 3.2 22.4 389 4.6 1.6
Newham 7,550 2.8 31.5 433 29.6 1.8
Southwark 7,760 4.3 32.5 438 -1.4 1.8
Tower Hamlets 6,390 7.1 34.2 347 -9.4 1.9
Barnet 4,842 5.9 14.0 245 11.4 0.7
Croydon 6,206 -1.9 18.3 384 -2.0 1.1
Enfield 5,077 5.8 18.8 296 15.6 1.1
Hammersmith & Fulham 4,283 -1.9 25.8 219 -1.4 1.3

Caroline Flint

The reclassification of cannabis is designed to continue to deter the use of cannabis while allowing the police to redeploy their resources to tackling more serious offences, including dealing in Class A drugs. It is vital that the police direct their resourcing priorities to tackling drugs, such as heroin and crack cocaine, which cause the most harm and often lead to other crimes, and this is what the reclassification of cannabis will enable them to do.