Pubdate: Mon, 08 Jul 2002
Source: Daily Telegraph (UK)
Copyright: 2002 Telegraph Group Limited
Contact:  http://www.telegraph.co.uk/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/114
Author: Benedict Brogan

SENTENCES TO BE DOUBLED FOR DEALING IN CANNABIS

Sentences for cannabis dealers will be doubled in a last-minute attempt to 
offset the effect of reclassifying the drug, according to leaked Home 
Office correspondence unveiled yesterday.

David Blunkett, the Home Secretary, is trying to head off charges of being 
too soft on cannabis ahead of new figures showing that, despite five years 
of Labour pledges to be "tough on crime", crime rates are soaring.

Mr Blunkett is under pressure from Tony Blair to deliver results at a time 
when his department's budget and his requests for extra cash are being 
scrutinised ahead of next week's spending review.

A Government order will be put before Parliament to reclassify cannabis 
from a Class B to a Class C drug, following a recommendation in the home 
affairs Select Committee's report on the drug problem.

Critics say the move is tantamount to decriminalisation because it ensures 
that police will lose all incentives to pursue those who use the drug.

Doubling sentences for dealing, on the other hand, puts the crime on a 
level with violent assault and gun crime.

Drugs campaigners warned that the contrast between tougher sentences for 
dealers and reduced penalties for possession of cannabis would leave the 
public confused .

In a letter to John Prescott, the Deputy Prime Minister, who chairs the 
Cabinet's domestic affairs sub-committee, Mr Blunkett tried to reconcile 
both approaches.

"It is not intended that reclassification should distract in any way from 
the simple message that all controlled drugs, including cannabis, are harmful."

Government takes the supply and dealing of cannabis very seriously and 
accordingly it intends to bring forward legislation to increase the maximum 
penalty for supplying and dealing Class C drugs from five to 10 years' 
imprisonment," he added, according to the Observer.

The debate over the Home Office approach to drugs comes as it prepares to 
release figures expected to show that crime has risen by six per cent in a 
year, to 5.5 million individual cases in England and Wales.

The increase will be dwarfed in October when first figures based on a new 
method of counting are released, showing that true crime levels in some 
areas are 40 per cent higher than thought.

Mr Blunkett ordered all police forces to record every crime they came 
across from April 1.

He has been horrified to find that the results have produced far higher 
figures than expected.

This week the final details of the Government's three-year spending plans 
are being worked out in meetings between the Treasury and Cabinet ministers 
from the major departments.

Mr Blunkett is expected to use the crime figures to show that he will need 
a significant increase in resources to deal with the worsening situation.

But the Treasury will demand evidence that any extra cash will not be 
absorbed by police pay without significant reforms to working practices.

Customs officers arrested two women at Manchester Airport yesterday after 
seizing cocaine worth UKP150,000 pounds from their luggage from Jamaica. 
They will appear in court today.
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