James Brokenshire:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what consideration she has given to publishing information on drugs seizures below the national level. [232905]
Mr. Alan Campbell:
The Home Office does currently collect and publish information on drug seizures below the national level. For information, the latest bulletin Seizures of Drugs in England and Wales, 2006-07 was published on 30 October 2008. Alongside this publication, additional tables were published which include data specific to police force area and Government office region. The publication and the tables are available at:
Mr. Ruffley:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many seizures of (a) methamphetamine, (b) cannabis and (c) heroin have been made by (i) police and (ii) HM Customs in each year since 1997; and what quantity was seized in each year. [234484]
Mr. Alan Campbell:
The available data are given in the following table.
Seizures for methamphetamine are included within the classification 'Other Class A' (injection) and 'Other Class B' (non-injection) in publications. These seizures cannot be extracted from these classifications prior to the most recently published year, 2006-07.
Table 1: Number and quantity1 of seizures made by Police and HM Revenue and Customs, by drug type and year: England and Wales
Number and quantity of seizures
Drug type
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006-07( 2)
Police Forces
Numbers
Heroin
10,444
12,593
12,644
12,971
14,517
12,543
10,460
10,980
13,243
13,141
Cannabis
73,450
86,540
92,210
78,350
73,220
74,250
79,600
74,613
111,212
133,195
Methamphetamine(3)(kg)
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
49
Quantities
Heroin (kg)
421
319
1,292
1,946
2,682
1,595
1,038
1.131
770
473
Cannabis (kg)
68,978
13,856
12,377
36,754
27,194
12,480
41,770
24,465
27,950
5,036
Cannabis plants
77,573
70,017
53,058
45,462
67,679
52,118
80,498
88,674
208,357
344,360
Methamphetamine(3)(kg)
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
235
HM Revenue and Customs
Numbers
Heroin
59
83
84
170
112
89
109
94
88
64
Cannabis
858
1,019
1,707
3,285
3,310
3,977
3,152
2,869
2,990
3,932
Methamphetamine(3)(kg)
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
5
13 Nov 2008 : Column 1349W
13 Nov 2008 : Column 1350W
Quantities
Heroin (kg)
1418
138
148
1,383
1,314
1,020
1,619
978
1,094
530
Cannabis (kg)
2,955
5,751
16,825
35,302
62,737
63,807
56,776
58,982
41,660
40,364
Cannabis plants
—
—
—
—
16
21
—
—
—
—
Methamphetamine(3)(kg)
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
0.1
(1) Drugs can be seized in a variety of forms or preparation types. In this table, quantities of drugs have been converted to weights (kg) or plants. In order to convert seizures to comparable units, conversion factors are applied to estimate the overall quantity for that drug. New conversion factors were introduced in 2005, in consultation with the Forensic Science Service. (2) Reporting of drug seizures have been moved to a financial year basis from 2006-07 to be comparable with other crime publications (3) Seizures of methamphetamine are included in Other Class A (injection) or Other Class B (non-injection) in published tables. Methamphetamine seizures cannot be extracted from these classifications prior to 2006-07.
Drugs: Crime
Mr. Ruffley:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many and what percentage of those accused of (a) possession of and (b) dealing in cannabis were (i) found not guilty, (ii) fined and (iii) imprisoned in each year since 2006. [234485]
Mr. Alan Campbell:
Data showing the number of defendants proceeded against, found not guilty, fined and imprisoned (and respective percentage rates of the number proceeded against) for possession and dealing in cannabis in England and Wales 1997 to 2006 are in the following table.
Information on the number accused is not held by my Department, proceeded against data have been supplied in lieu.
Data for 2007 will be available at the end of November 2008.
The statistics relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offence 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.
Number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts and found not guilty, fined and imprisoned at all courts for possession and dealing( 1) in cannabis, England and Wales, 1997 to 2006( 2,3)
Found not guilty
Fined
Immediate custody
Proceeded against
Number
Percentage of those proceeded against
Number
Percentage of those proceeded against
Number
Percentage of those proceeded against
1997
Possession of cannabis
18,940
1,665
9
11,890
63
268
1
Dealing in cannabis
5,063
1,150
23
357
7
1,779
35
1998
Possession of cannabis
24,395
1,752
7
15,503
64
410
2
Dealing in cannabis
5,053
963
19
399
8
1,940
38
1999
Possession of cannabis
24,322
1,699
7
15,215
63
451
2
Dealing in cannabis
4,497
1,083
24
313
7
1,685
37
2000
Possession of cannabis
22,304
1,578
7
13,638
61
361
2
Dealing in cannabis
3,195
526
16
231
7
1,213
38
2001
Possession of cannabis
22,705
1,953
9
12,960
57
290
1
Dealing in cannabis
2,593
622
24
160
6
883
34
2002
Possession of cannabis
25,976
2,321
9
14,123
54
241
1
Dealing in cannabis
2,545
565
22
154
6
805
32
2003
Possession of cannabis
27,871
2,157
8
15,172
54
288
1
13 Nov 2008 : Column 1351W
13 Nov 2008 : Column 1352W
Dealing in cannabis
2,790
798
29
144
5
697
25
2004
Possession of cannabis
14,646
1,326
9
6,972
48
161
1
Dealing in cannabis
2,142
439
20
122
6
576
27
2005
Possession of cannabis
13,040
945
7
6,316
48
136
1
Dealing in cannabis
2,176
790
36
87
4
407
19
2006
Possession of cannabis
13,450
914
7
6,368
47
141
1
Dealing in cannabis
2,216
874
39
50
2
341
15
(1) Includes supply and possession with intent to supply (2) These data are on the principal offence basis. The figures given in the table on court proceedings relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offence for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences, the offence selected is the one 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. (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 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. Source:
Evidence and Analysis Unit—Office for Criminal Justice Reform—Ministry of Justice IOS 554-08
