Cannabis arrests fall in London but public and police are 'confused'

The number of people arrested for cannabis possession in the capital has dropped by half since the Government liberalised laws on the drug, according to figures from the Metropolitan Police.

The number of people arrested for cannabis possession in the capital has dropped by half since the Government liberalised laws on the drug, according to figures from the Metropolitan Police.

The decision to downgrade cannabis from a class B to a class C drug in February and to let off most people who are caught in possession with a warning has saved Scotland Yard the equivalent of the time of 13 officers a year, the police report adds.

But it said that civilians and law enforcers were still confused about the changes, prompting a growing number of confrontations with young cannabis smokers who believe the practice is legal.

In the five months since the law changed, the number of people arrested in London for cannabis possession dropped by 53 per cent from 6,231 to 3,307, compared with the similar period the year before.

But the figures indicated that many more people were being caught with the drug. While 6,231 people were arrested for cannabis possession in 2003, 8,148 people were arrested - or caught with the drug and not arrested - in 2004.

Under the changes in the law, possessing the drug ceased to be an arrestable offence in most situations, but officers retained the power to arrest in aggravated circumstances, such as smoking dope outside schools or on the street.

In most cases, the drug is supposed to be confiscated and users given a warning.

The maximum penalty for the possession of cannabis was reduced from five years to two years.

Children under 18 who are caught with the drug will usually have two warnings before they are charged. David Blunkett, the Home Secretary, introduced the changes so the police could concentrate on hard drugs such as heroin and crack cocaine.

One unexpected outcome of the downgrading of cannabis appears to be that the police are now more willing to seize the drug.

There were 8,148 so-called interactions involving cannabis users in the five-month period, compared to the 6,231 arrested the previous year.

Of those caught with cannabis, 3,207, or 39 per cent, were white, and 3,219, 40 per cent, were Afro-Caribbean. About a third of the total were aged between 18 to 21, and 7 per cent were women.

Part of the explanation is that the police now have formal guidelines about when to take action; before some officers would have ignored cannabis use.

Some of the increase is also due to the new figures including formal warnings, where people have the drug confiscated but are not arrested.

The report, done for the Metropolitan Police Authority, also found that some people wrongly believed the drug had been legalised.

It said: "Reclassification has sent a mixed/confusing message to police and members of the public. It was reported that front-line officers were finding searches resulting in cannabis seizures were often confrontational.

"Youths were telling officers that they could not do anything about their possession of the drug. Local communities also expressed their concern about a perceived relaxation in drug enforcement. This is thought to have raised communities' fear of crime because groups were seen to openly flout the law."

The police have raided 31 illegal cannabis laboratories in London in four months since April, compared with 74 in the previous year. "Early indications therefore are that large quantities of cannabis are being grown within London to meet demand," the report said.

It adds: "Drug dealers are adopting the postal system to import controlled drugs.

"It is suggested that organised crime is attempting to infiltrate the parcel company's workforce with the aim to exploit the system."