Police force that lets off cocaine and heroin users
A SENIOR police officer has denied being ‘soft’ on drugs after his force stopped arresting people caught with cocaine, heroin and ecstasy.
Avon and Somerset Police have sparked outrage by letting those found with the drugs off the hook and sending them to a workshop instead of prosecuting them.
But Paul Bunt, the force’s drug strategy manager, insisted the scheme was ‘absolutely not’ legalising hard drugs by the back door.
However, critics are concerned that use of the deadly Class A drugs will increasingly be seen as acceptable if users can get away with a slap on the wrist, risking dealers becoming ever more brazen.
People in Bristol caught with an amount deemed small enough for personal use are sent to a ‘diversion programme’ to avoid a criminal record and being hauled before the courts. Hundreds of suspected criminals are opting for the courses despite being caught by officers.
Instead of risking up to seven years in jail, they are expected to complete a three-and-a-half hour education session and behave themselves for four months.
The scheme has been taken up by four out of five suspects.
Mr Bunt told BBC News: ‘ This isn’t a soft touch. It is dealing with it appropriately for the 21st Century. I think there is a general feeling out there now that people who use substances, and don’t use violence or commit crime in any other way, why should we be filling our prisons with people like that?’ In an interview with Vice website, he said: ‘Being arrested for drug possession is a shock. When someone gets detained by a police officer it’s a scary experience for those who have not been arrested before.’
After a year, of the 400 people who attended the course, only one was caught reoffending, he said.
But critics warned that the process is asking to be abused and that many people require tougher treatment than a ‘get out of jail free card’. Lucy
‘Legalising drugs by the back door’
Dawe, of anti-drugs group Cannabis Skunk Sense, said: ‘This appears to be another step on the road to legalising drugs by the back door.’
The scheme is the first time people caught with cocaine and heroin have avoided automatic criminalisation since the Defence of the Realm Act introduced in 1916.
The 12-month trial scheme is due to end this month.
A Home Office spokesman said: ‘This Government has no intention of decriminalising drugs.
‘It is vital that the police and criminal justice system have a range of measures available to them to prevent drug use, but also have the tools to deal robustly with serious and repeat offenders who cause the most harm in our communities.’