Cannabis Possession should not be used by police to inflate their performance targets
Between 2004 and 2011 the number of cannabis possession offences recorded almost doubled
Between 2004 and 2011 the number of cannabis possession offences recorded almost doubled
Dr Shiner's study paper which was published in The International Journal On Drug Policy states that if cannabis possession was removed as an offence police officers would be able to concentrate on more serious crime.
“Many otherwise law-abiding, mainly young, people are still being criminalised to the detriment of their future; and drug policing continues to be disproportionately targeted at minority ethnic communities,” Dr Shiner writes.
“On a more optimistic note, the introduction of cannabis street warnings has inadvertently shown that police behaviour is malleable and responds to incentives.
"Perhaps the best administrative decision that could be made in the short-term is to remove drug possession from police performance indicators. Then we might get a police service that concentrates on crimes that cause most harm.”
read the article in full here - http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2015/08/03/cannabis-possession-police-targets_n_7923632.html
S
Soft Secrets
