Fears are growing that drug possession is being decriminalised by stealth after figures revealed less than 1 per cent of people caught with illegal substances are jailed.
Over the past four years, police found some 461,000 people with drugs on them, including heroin and cocaine, but only 4,374 received prison sentences.
A Daily Mail analysis of arrests for possessing drugs revealed just 0.94 per cent received a custodial sentence, even though the maximum jail term for possessing Class A substances is seven years.
For those caught with Class B cannabis, the figures were even smaller – with only 1,440 of those caught in England and Wales put behind bars. Some 325,000 cannabis users received nothing more than a telling off. Critics warned the figures showed authorities were turning a blind eye and drug possession was being ‘decriminalised by the back door’.
Figures revealed less than 1 per cent of people caught with illegal substances by police are jailed. The drugs found on people by police included heroin and cocaine (file photo)
Peter Cuthbertson, founder of the Centre For Crime Prevention think-tank, said: ‘Even people with a very lax attitude to drugs may be surprised by how lenient the police and the courts really are. For every 1,000 people convicted or cautioned for cannabis possession, 988 avoid prison. Those remaining get an average sentence of only two months. This figure includes people found with very large supplies who police know are drug dealers.
‘As more evidence comes in on how harmful cannabis use can be, the soft approach looks less and less justified. It is even more dangerous to be lax on drugs such as heroin. The Government must not allow harmful drugs to be decriminalised by the back door.’
Between 2013 and 2016, police arrested 461,537 people for drug possession, according to Home Office and Ministry of Justice figures. Some 188,520 were let off with a warning. A further 40,225 received on-the-spot fines of at least £90, and another 96,768 were given a caution.
Of those hauled before a court, 127,340 were sentenced while just 4,374 were sent to prison.
David Green, a former Home Office adviser who is chief executive of the Civitas think-tank, said: ‘If someone has more than a certain amount for personal use then the only way to deal with it is to apply a custodial sentence. The moral justification is that dealers are exploiting the weak and vulnerable.’
Analysis of arrests for possessing drugs revealed just 0.94 per cent received a custodial sentence (file photo)
Out of 461,000 people found with drugs in four years only 4,374 were sent to jail (file photo)
Guidelines for sentencing say someone caught in possession of Class A drugs such as heroin and cocaine can face a maximum jail term of seven years. For Class B drugs, including cannabis, the maximum sentence is five years. No guidelines are given about what volume of drugs constitutes possession, but for the more serious offence of possession with intent to supply, the volumes are 5g (0.2oz) of heroin or cocaine, 20 ecstasy tablets, 170 squares of LSD, 20g (0.7oz) of amphetamine or 100g (3.5oz) of cannabis.
In April, Avon and Somerset Police had to deny being ‘soft’ on drugs after it stopped arresting people caught with cocaine, heroin and ecstasy – sending them to a workshop instead of prosecuting them.
And in October, the Mail revealed cannabis growers were routinely being let off by Devon and Cornwall Constabulary. Officers had discovered 194 cannabis farms over four years but brought charges against only 79 of the suspects. The rest were cautioned or given warnings.
Commander Simon Bray, the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for drugs, said: ‘We continue to enforce the law with full use of all the methods of prosecution and disposal available to us.’