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26 Feb 2010 : Column 786W—continued


John Penrose: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 24 November 2009, Official Report, column 84W, on drugs: crime, how many people were convicted of offences of drug (a) possession and (b) dealing in Avon and Somerset police force area in 2008. [318390]

Claire Ward: Pursuant to the answer of 24 November 2009, the number of persons found guilty at all courts for drug possession and dealing in the Avon and Somerset police force area in 2008 (latest available) can be viewed in the following table:


26 Feb 2010 : Column 787W

26 Feb 2010 : Column 788W
Number of persons found guilty at all courts for the possession and dealing of drugs, Avon and Somerset police force area 2008( 1,2,3)
Offence 2008

Having possession of a controlled drug

707

Having possession of a controlled drug with intent to supply

154

Supplying or offering to supply a controlled drug

64

Notes: 1. The figures given in the table on court proceedings relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it 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. 2. 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. 3. Excludes convictions data for Cardiff magistrates court for April, July, and August 2008. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services in the Ministry of Justice.

Drugs: Fine

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 4 February 2010, Official Report, columns 490-3W, on drugs: fines, what the number of people fined for (a) possession and (b) possession with intent to supply was as a proportion of all those convicted of both offences in each year for which the data are provided. [317569]

Claire Ward: The requested information is shown in the following tables.

Number of persons fined and total sentenced, at all courts, for having possession of a controlled drug by drug type and year, 1998 to 2008
England and Wales
Drug type and year Number of persons fined Total sentenced Fine rate (percentage)

Cannabis

1998

15,503

22,616

68.5

1999

15,215

22,672

67.1

2000

13,638

20,799

65.6

2001

12,960

20,736

62.5

2002

14,123

23,627

59.8

2003

15,172

25,665

59.1

2004

6,972

13,302

52.4

2005

6,316

12,050

52.4

2006

6,368

12,452

51.1

2007

6,839

14,004

48.8

2008

8,694

17,831

48.8

Cocaine

1998

1,003

1,642

61.1

1999

1,243

2,035

61.1

2000

1,117

1,884

59.3

2001

1,107

1,977

56.0

2002

1,332

2,233

59.7

2003

1,411

2,455

57.5

2004

1,516

2,737

55.4

2005

1,731

3,161

54.8

2006

2,055

3,981

51.6

2007

2,307

4,882

47.3

2008

2,839

5,825

48.7

Crack Cocaine

1998

192

361

53.2

1999

246

483

50.9

2000

265

506

52.4

2001

281

626

44.9

2002

394

786

50.1

2003

381

862

44.2

2004

328

846

38.8

2005

386

921

41.9

2006

392

973

40.3

2007

409

1,211

33.8

2008

572

1,549

36.9

Ecstasy (MDMA)

1998

408

743

54.9

1999

681

1,253

54.3

2000

1,038

2,002

51.8

2001

1,201

2,485

48.3

2002

1,078

2,170

49.7

2003

1,023

2,001

51.1

2004

840

1,849

45.4

2005

761

1,672

45.5

2006

672

1,524

44.1

2007

618

1,571

39.3

2008

404

974

41.5

Heroin

1998

1,505

4,311

34.9

1999

1,660

4,836

34.3

2000

1,715

5,143

33.3

2001

1,856

5,436

34.1

2002

1,758

5,040

34.9

2003

1,541

4,563

33.8

2004

1,405

4,258

33.0

2005

1,230

3,942

31.2

2006

1,159

3,939

29.4

2007

1,335

4,628

28.8

2008

1,478

4,870

30.3

Notes:
1. These data are presented on the principal offence basis. Where an offender has been sentenced for more than one offence the principal offence is the one for which the heaviest sentence was imposed. Where the same sentence has been imposed for two or more offences the principal offence is the one for which the statutory maximum is most severe.
2. These figures have been drawn from administrative data systems.
3. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system.
Source:
Justice Statistics Analytical Services, Ministry of Justice

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