Cannabis at risk of being 'decriminalised' as police let users off with community resolutions

In the Metropolitan Police the proportion has risen from just 3.8 per cent in 2015/16 to 50.7 per cent of cannabis users in the first quarter of 2019/20.

They are designed for first-time offenders who have to accept responsibility for the offence “no ifs & no buts” and agree “an act of reparation,” according to Met police guidance to officers.

This comprises reading information on “how cannabis can have a negative impact on your future” or having it read to them by an officer or watching it on video.

The moves raise questions over whether the police are in effect decriminalising cannabis by shifting from punishment to treatment which they say can be made a condition with community resolutions.

The Police Federation of England and Wales, which represents rank and file officers, said it demonstrated the need for a national debate over whether such drugs should continue to be illegal.

Simon Kempton, operational lead for the federation, told The Daily Telegraph that cuts to police meant cannabis possession was not a priority for many forces, adding: “There are bigger issues which must be considered here about how we as a society deal with the issue of illegal drugs. 

“We are not calling for their legalisation or decriminalisation, but clearly prohibition has failed. We now need an open, honest, transparent debate about how we tackle this issue, taking evidence from around the world.”

The Government has rejected legalisation of cannabis because of the “strong link between drug misuse and violence.” “These [community resolution] orders must be used proportionately and never to let adult offenders off the hook – we expect [the police] to enforce the law,” said a spokesman.

It echoes the outcry 20 years ago when Met commander Brian Paddick launched a pilot in Brixton where cannabis users were let off with a warning to free up resource to target drug dealers. Cannabis was then downgraded by Labour to a class C drug before a backlash forced its return to class B.

Other forces shifting from police warnings to community resolutions are Hampshire, up from 7.5 to 70.2 per cent of offenders caught with cannabis, Leicestershire up from 39.9 per cent to 61.8 per cent and Cambridgeshire up from 4.2 per cent to 45.1 per cent.

In the same three-year period, the overall number charged for possessing cannabis has fallen by 16 per cent to just one in five (22 per cent) of all those caught with the drug. In some forces, it is as low as one in eight (12.7 per cent), meaning almost nine in ten escape without a prosecution.

The move reflects the trend towards treatment rather than punishment. This week Thames Valley Police expanded a pilot where users of all drugs including cocaine and heroin can avoid prosecution if they agree to attend treatment courses.

But David Green, director of the criminal justice think tank Civitas, said: “There might be a justification for a community resolution on a first offence if it is associated with a pledge to take part in treatment. But I suspect this is just a way of getting it off police books and not doing much about it.

“If it doesn’t send a strong message of disapproval, then you are effectively decriminalising cannabis and making it likely to be used again.”

Police guidelines say community resolutions - which are non-statutory and not recorded on the police national computer - should only be handed out for “less serious offences” such as “low-level” criminal damage, low-value thefts or anti-social behaviour.

However, forces are increasingly using them for people and under 18s caught in possession of cannabis including Staffordshire (57 per cent of offences), West Yorkshire (53.3 per cent), and Surrey (39.2 per cent).

Nationally, the proportion of community resolutions for people caught with cannabis has quadrupled since 2015/16 from 6.6 per cent to 27.8 per cent. For all drugs including class A cocaine and heroin, it has risen from 13.3 per cent to 22.2 per cent.

The Met Police said community resolutions had helped “streamline” the force’s out-of-court disposals to be less time-consuming, enabling officers to “focus on dealing with violence, high-harm crime and dismantling criminal networks supplying drug lines across London.”

Leicestershire police said its community resolution could include treatment, which in some cases could be imposed as a condition. “This helps to address the issue direct, provide help and prevent any further misuse,” said a spokesman.

Chief Inspector Simon Tribe, of Hampshire Police, said community resolutions enabled the force to offer a course that was not available with a warning: “The drive has therefore been towards referring those found in possession of drugs onto a meaningful intervention rather than just giving a warning.”

Adrian Crossley, head of addiction and crime at Centre for Social Justice, said a community resolution could be worthwhile provided it was conditional on the offender engaging with drugs treatment workers.

“In Constabularies where such schemes are used to educate and to  encourage desistance, while avoiding more serious and harmful sanctions, their efforts are to be commended,” he said.  

“The state’s first response must be to meaningfully engage with potentially problematic substance misuse and to assist people towards better lifestyle choices. It cannot be punishment without  any meaningful challenge to a user’s behaviour.”

The National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) denied it was decriminalisation, saying the national strategy made clear community resolutions should not be used in the most serious cases.

“Officers are making decisions about whether it is fair and proportionate to give someone a criminal record for their first minor offence – when they’ve admitted responsibility, offered to remedy the crime, are considered unlikely to reoffend, and can be given a sanction that deters further offending such as attending an educational course,” said a spokesman.