Drugs: Smuggling James Brokenshire To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been (a) cautioned, (b) prosecuted and (c) convicted of offences relating to the unlawful importation or exportation of drugs in each of the last 10 years; and how many of those convicted received the maximum available sentence. Claire Ward I have been asked to reply. The number of offenders issued with a caution and the number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts and found guilty at all courts for offences relating to the unlawful importation or exportation of drugs in England and Wales, from 1998 to 2007 (latest available) is given in tables 1 and 2 respectively. The number of defendants given the maximum available custodial sentence for offences relating to import or export of a controlled drug in England and Wales, from 1998 to 2007, is given in table 3. Court proceedings data for 2008 are planned for publication at the end of January 2010. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |Statute/offence description |1998|1999|2000|2001|2002|2003|2004|2005|2006|2007| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |Customs and Excise Management Act 1979: Offence in relation to the unlawful ‘importation’ of a drug controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 |29 |16 |5 |3 |1 |6 |9 |15 |10 |11 | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |Customs and Excise Management Act 1979: Offence in relation to the unlawful ‘exportation’ of a drug controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 |5 |8 |11 |1 |6 |6 |8 |4 |24 |6 | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |1 From 1 June 2000 the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 came into force nationally and removed the use of cautions for persons under 18 and replaced them with reprimands and warnings. These figures have been included in the totals.2 The cautions statistics relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been cautioned for two or more offences at the same time, the principal offence is the more serious offence.3 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 police forces. 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.Source:Office for Criminal Justice Reform: Evidence and Analysis Unit.| | | | | | | | | | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | |1998 |1999 |2000 |2001 |2002 | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Statute/offence description |Proceeded against|Found guilty|Proceeded against|Found guilty|Proceeded against|Found guilty|Proceeded against|Found guilty|Proceeded against|Found guilty| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Customs and Excise Management Act 1979: Offence in relation to the unlawful ‘importation’ of a drug controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971|1,300 |1,190 |1,280 |1,171 |1,201 |1,165|1,752|1,648|1,624|1,599| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Customs and Excise Management Act 1979: Offence in relation to the unlawful ‘exportation’ of a drug controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971|112 |59 |74 |25 |51 |40|22|30|30|21| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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|Statute/offence description |Proceeded against|Found guilty|Proceeded against|Found guilty|Proceeded against|Found guilty|Proceeded against|Found guilty|Proceeded against|Found guilty| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Customs and Excise Management Act 1979: Offence in relation to the unlawful ‘importation’ of a drug controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 |1,081 |1,063 |945 |975 |1,057 |1,026 |874 |835 |818 |783 | 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|Customs and Excise Management Act 1979: Offence in relation to the unlawful ‘exportation’ of a drug controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 |28 |18 |18 |37 |25 |35 |30 |35 |38 |36 | 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|1 The statistics relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences, the principal offence is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.2 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 and police forces. 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.3 Staffordshire police force were only able to submit sample data for persons proceeded against and convicted in the magistrates courts for the year 2000. Although sufficient to estimate higher orders of data, these data are not robust enough at a detailed level and have been excluded from the table.4 Where the ‘found guilty’ column exceeds the ‘proceeded against’ column it may be the case that a defendant was found guilty at the Crown court in the year following the year in which proceedings took place, or the defendant was found guilty for a different offence to that proceeded against.Source:Office for Criminal Justice Reform: Evidence and Analysis unit.| | | | | | | | | | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | |1998|1999|2000|2001|2002|2003|2004|2005|2006|2007| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Import2 |1 |— |— |— |— |— |1 |— |— |— | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Export3 |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |1 Customs and Excise Management Act 1979. Offences in relation to the unlawful importation/exportation of a drug controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971.2 Maximum available sentence for import of class A or other class is life imprisonment, for class B and C it is 14 years.3 Maximum available sentence for export of class A or other class is life imprisonment, for class B and C it is 14 years.Note:These figures have been drawn from administrative data systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system.Source:OMS Analytical Services, Ministry of Justice.| | | | | | | | | | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------