To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offences of possession of (a) cannabis, (b) cocaine, (c) heroin, (d) ecstasy, (e) ketamine and (f) LSD have been recorded by police in (i) Eastbourne and (ii) East Sussex in each of the last 10 years. (267272)

Recorded offences of possession of cannabis have been collected separately since 2004-05 and the available figures are given in the table. Possession of other drug types are included in the Home Office classification 'Possession of controlled drugs (excluding cannabis)' but the drug type cannot be separately identified.

Recent rises in recorded possession of cannabis offences are largely associated with the increased police use of powers to issue warnings for cannabis possession, these powers first becoming nationally available from 1 April 2004.

Offence categorisations as used in police recorded crime have always been broader than those used in court proceedings and the detailed returns on cautioning. From 1 April 2004, it was agreed that cannabis possession be separated from other drug possession offences to better monitor the use of police powers to issue cannabis warnings. It has not been considered necessary to record more detailed breakdowns on other drug possession offences as overall detection rates for these offences are high.

Information on court proceedings and cautioning give a good picture of the extent of other drug possessions that come to the attention of the police by type of drug.