8 out of 10 drug users and dealers spared jail

New soft-touch justice row over toll of tragedies

SOFT-TOuch justice is fuelling Scotland’s growing drug deaths as thousands of dealers and users are let off with fines and warnings.

More than eight out of ten people convicted of drugs offences are spared prison – and the length of jail terms for those locked up has hit a record low.

Nearly 3,500 fines were imposed last year for drug crimes while more than 1,200 people were given community Payback Orders (cPOs) to carry out activities such as picking up litter as a ‘punishment’.

The figures come as the number of drugrelated deaths last year rose to a record high after an increase of almost a quarter in the space of only 12 months, branded a ‘national tragedy’ by drugs experts.

Last night there were warnings that the figures show dealers are thriving as the number of fatalities rockets to the worst rate of drug deaths in Europe.

Scottish Tory justice spokesman Liam Kerr said: ‘In its bid to empty jails, the SNP is allowing too many criminals involved in drugs to walk away from court with next to no punishment.’

Scottish Government figures show that in 2015-16, 1,004 people were jailed for drug offences including possession and supply out of a total of 7,152, which means 86 per cent avoided jail.

This is up from 81 per cent who were spared jail in 2010-11 (1,394 jailed out of 7,500).

In 2015-16, 3,410 were fined for drug crimes and 1,233 got cPOs, while 1,212 were let off with admonitions – effectively sheriffs’ warnings. The rest got other punishments such as electronic tagging.

The average length of jail terms for drug offences fell to 476 days (nearly 16 months) in 2015-16, down from 604 days (20 months) in 2013-14. The figure for 2014-15 was 517 days (17 months).

Leading drugs expert Professor Neil McKeganey said the cut in the length of jail terms showed ministers were placing less emphasis on community safety.

he added: ‘It is more probably a reflection that in a context where it is being repeatedly and erroneously claimed, including by ministers, that drug use is a health issue, that the goal of protecting the community has been increasingly eclipsed by the goal of meeting the needs of drug users.’

Drug-related fatalities in Scotland are proportionately the highest in Europe and more than twoand-a-half times the uK rate.

The SNP recently announced an overhaul of its drugs policy but released only limited details of what it will comprise. A Scottish Government spokesman said: ‘It is wrong to draw any comparison between drug-related deaths and sentences – the two sets of data concern two completely separate issues. Sentencing is a matter for the court.

‘We are committed to tackling illegal drugs by applying the law to dealers while supporting those living with an addiction.’

Comment – Page 16

‘Walk away with next to no punishment’