Pubdate: Tue, 23 Jan 2007
Source: Daily Telegraph (UK)
Copyright: 2007 Telegraph Group Limited
Contact:  http://www.telegraph.co.uk/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/114
Author: John Steele, Crime Correspondent

CHILDREN NO LONGER FACE AUTOMATIC ARREST FOR CANNABIS
POSSESSION

Children Caught in Possession of Cannabis Will No Longer 
Automatically Be Arrested.

Legal changes aimed at making arrests "compliant" with human rights 
legislation have led police to scrapping the old guidelines, 
prompting accusations of a "dangerous signal" being sent to 
youngsters about drugs.

After cannabis was down-graded from a Class B to a non-arrestable 
Class C drug three years ago, police chiefs successfully lobbied the 
Government to preserve the right of arrest in cases with "aggravating factors."

One such factor was possession by a juvenile - aged 17 and under, but 
over 10. Officers were told by the Association of Chief Police 
Officers (Acpo) to arrest under-17s found in possession so they could 
be dealt with under a system of cautions, reprimands and final 
warnings available under anti-crime and disorder legislation.

However, the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act (Socpa), which 
came into force last year, empowered officers to arrest for any 
suspected offence as long as they could justify the detention as 
"necessary" and proportionate. This "necessity test" reflected the 
provisions of the 1998 Human Rights Act, which incorporated European 
human rights law into English law.

Acpo has now replaced the previous guidance that juvenile possession 
should lead to automatic arrest with advice that it "may" lead to 
arrest if necessary.

The guidance states: "Consideration should be given to less intrusive 
means if possible such as taking the young person home, verifying 
their name and address and referring the case for a disposal decision."

The shadow Home Secretary, David Davis, said: "This is a dangerous 
signal to send young people about what is a dangerous drug. Today's 
cannabis is 10 times stronger than it was 20 years ago. It can cause 
serious mental illness."
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MAP posted-by: Elaine