poledriver
Bluelighter
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VICE EXCLUSIVE: These British Police Forces Have Stopped Arresting Drug Users
People caught carrying personal amounts of drugs, including cocaine and heroin, are being diverted away from the criminal justice system in what could mark the first step towards the decriminalisation of drugs in Britain, VICE can reveal.
In a move that appears to fly in the face of the Home Office's official anti-drug reform mantra, both Durham and Avon & Somerset Police forces have for several months been operating "diversion" schemes which have resulted in scores of drug users avoiding court, jail and a criminal record.
It marks the first time people caught with cocaine and heroin have avoided automatic criminalisation since the possession of both drugs without a prescription was banned a century ago under the Defence of the Realm Act, which was introduced in 1916 during the First World War.
In Bristol, where Avon and Somerset's Drug Education Programme has been running since April, 215 people caught in possession of drugs – an offence with a maximum sentence of seven years – have been offered an alternative to receiving a criminal record and court summons. Instead, drug users can attend a three-and-a-half hour drug education workshop run by a local drug service. If the workshop is successfully completed, those caught with drugs receive a letter confirming that their drug possession offence has been dropped. Anyone can be offered the diversion, regardless of their past criminal record, including previous cannabis warnings and drug convictions.
Police say 80 percent have taken up the offer and completed the workshop. However, those diverted onto the scheme, which has been extended to April next year, only get one shot. As with cannabis warnings, if they are caught a second time they will be arrested and dealt with as normal.
Over half of those diverted onto the scheme were picked up for possession of cannabis, and a quarter were stopped carrying either cocaine or MDMA. Others have come onto the scheme after being caught with heroin, crack cocaine, speed, ketamine, magic mushrooms and 2CB.
Drug workers say problem heroin and crack users are less likely to take part in the experiment. Most already have a history of drug convictions and some prefer going to prison. Police say people caught in possession of drugs alongside more serious crimes such as theft are less likely to be offered the scheme than others. So far, 40 young people, who attend a special youth version of the workshops, have taken part in the experiment.
Cont-
http://www.vice.com/en_uk/read/drug-decriminalisation-in-uk-narcomania-heroin-crack
People caught carrying personal amounts of drugs, including cocaine and heroin, are being diverted away from the criminal justice system in what could mark the first step towards the decriminalisation of drugs in Britain, VICE can reveal.
In a move that appears to fly in the face of the Home Office's official anti-drug reform mantra, both Durham and Avon & Somerset Police forces have for several months been operating "diversion" schemes which have resulted in scores of drug users avoiding court, jail and a criminal record.
It marks the first time people caught with cocaine and heroin have avoided automatic criminalisation since the possession of both drugs without a prescription was banned a century ago under the Defence of the Realm Act, which was introduced in 1916 during the First World War.
In Bristol, where Avon and Somerset's Drug Education Programme has been running since April, 215 people caught in possession of drugs – an offence with a maximum sentence of seven years – have been offered an alternative to receiving a criminal record and court summons. Instead, drug users can attend a three-and-a-half hour drug education workshop run by a local drug service. If the workshop is successfully completed, those caught with drugs receive a letter confirming that their drug possession offence has been dropped. Anyone can be offered the diversion, regardless of their past criminal record, including previous cannabis warnings and drug convictions.
Police say 80 percent have taken up the offer and completed the workshop. However, those diverted onto the scheme, which has been extended to April next year, only get one shot. As with cannabis warnings, if they are caught a second time they will be arrested and dealt with as normal.
Over half of those diverted onto the scheme were picked up for possession of cannabis, and a quarter were stopped carrying either cocaine or MDMA. Others have come onto the scheme after being caught with heroin, crack cocaine, speed, ketamine, magic mushrooms and 2CB.
Drug workers say problem heroin and crack users are less likely to take part in the experiment. Most already have a history of drug convictions and some prefer going to prison. Police say people caught in possession of drugs alongside more serious crimes such as theft are less likely to be offered the scheme than others. So far, 40 young people, who attend a special youth version of the workshops, have taken part in the experiment.
Cont-
http://www.vice.com/en_uk/read/drug-decriminalisation-in-uk-narcomania-heroin-crack
