Hansard

Cannabis

Volume 458: debated on Wednesday 28 March 2007

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Mr. Malins

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many persons (a) under 18 and (b) over 18 years were (i) cautioned and (ii) convicted by the courts in each of the last five years for possession of cannabis. (130355)

Mr. Coaker

[holding answer 27 March 2007]: Available information relates to persons in England and Wales dealt with under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 of unlawfully possessing cannabis between 2000 and 2004. Figures are in the following table.

Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts, police forces and other agencies. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.

Number of persons (a) aged under 18 and (b) aged 18 and over cautioned or found guilty of unlawfully possessing cannabis: England and Wales, 2000 to 2004

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

(a)Persons aged under 18:

Reprimands

17213

17,878

18,869

16,220

14,769

Warnings

1—

1—

1—

1—

1—

Found guilty

3,764

4,383

4,997

5,367

4,111

(b)Persons aged 18 and over:

Cautions

26,512

24,762

28,941

29,209

15,214

Formal warnings

n/a

n/a

n/a

n/a

227,520 20

Found guilty

28,528

27,903

31,234

33,995

18,850

1 Separate figures for reprimands and warnings, which replaced cautions for persons aged under 18 in selected areas of England and Wales on 30 September 1998, are not available for 2000 to 2002.

2 Formal warnings data for cannabis possession have been available since April 2004. Those aged 18 and over who are caught in simple possession of cannabis can be eligible for a police formal warning which would not involve an arrest. Police issued 27,520 formal warnings between April and December 2004.

Mr. Malins

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of those convicted by the courts for possession of cannabis in each of the last five years (a) received a custodial sentence and (b) received a fine. (130356)

Mr. Coaker

[holding answer 27 March 2007]: Available information relates to persons found guilty in England and Wales under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 of unlawfully possessing cannabis between 2000 and 2004. See following table.

Percentage of persons found guilty of unlawfully possessing cannabis who (a) received a custodial sentence and (b) were fined: England and Wales, 2000 to 2004.

Percentage

Custodial sentence1

Fined

2000

6

52

2001

6

51

2002

5

50

2003

4

50

20042

5

43

1 Includes suspended sentences.

2 Formal warnings, which do not involve an arrest or court appearance, were introduced nationally in April 2004 for persons aged 18 and over caught in simple possession of cannabis. Police issued 27,520 such warnings between April and December 2004.