Freedom of Information Request Reference No: I note you seek access to the following information: This request relates to the following offences set out in the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971: i. Possession of Cannabis - s.5 (1) of the Act; ii. Possession of Cannabis with intent to supply - s.5(3) of the Act. 1. For each of these two offences separately, please supply the following data broken down by each year a) 2004, b) 2005, c) 2006, d) 2007, e) 2008 and f) 2009 g) 2015 h) 2016: a) The total number of individuals arrested by your force b) The total number of individuals cautioned by your force c) The total number of individuals charged by your force DECISION I have today decided to disclose the located information to you in full. Please find attached and below information pursuant to your request above. The MPS remains committed to tackling all drug-related crime. We are proactive in targeting organised crime groups involved in serious crime, and this includes those who are involved in the supply and possession of drugs. This approach is supported with the assistance of London's communities, many of who provide us with information on drugs in their area and assist us to gather evidence, so that we can carry out operations to tackle the issue in their neighbourhood. Officers from across London work daily to tackle the drug dealing that impacts on communities. We encourage local people to share any information or concerns that they have about drugs in their neighbourhood. They can do this by contacting their neighbourhood policing teams, by calling 101 or Crimestoppers (0800 555 111). I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for taking an interest in the Metropolitan Police Service. Information Rights Unit
Cannabis possession related offence data April - December 2008, 2009, 2015 & 2016 Protective Marking Suitable for Publication Scheme Ad-Hoc Reference Number FOIA/MOPAC Ref Number Summary Creating Branch / Directorate Date Created Review Date Unrestricted Yes 8203 Cannabis possession related offence data for the date range April - December 2008, 2009, 2015 & 2016 MetHQ - Strategy and Insight 29/03/2017 N/A This report uses LIVE DATA extracted from: NSPIS Date Live data was extracted: March 2017
Notes The data was extracted from offence data that is compiled from NSPIS from April 2008 and is updated on a monthly basis. NSPIS records (MET wide) started 01/04/2008. Question 1 The number of Offence Titles do not equate to the number of detainees. For example, a detainee may have been arrested twice within the time period stated or they may have been arrested for more than one Offence Title. The Offence Title does not indicate the outcome. For example, some Arrest Offences may have resulted in "No Further Action". There are more Offence Titles for possession of/possession with intent to supply Cannabis than the two that are mentioned in the request. There are also Offence Titles that refer to "Class" of drugs and may be related to Cannabis, but these are not within the data as the request mentions Cannabis within the Offence Title. Question 2 Most Serious Disposal is taken from the Document Disposal field on NSPIS. Most Serious Disposal is shown by Custody Record and relates to the relevant Cannabis offences as per the request. Any disposals for other offences on the Custody Record will not be taken into account.
IMPORTANT: Please ensure that the Notes Page is read in conjunction with the data in this report to ensure that it is interpreted correctly. Total detainees arrested for at least one of the offences listed below Year of Arrest (Apr - Dec) 2008 2009 2015 2016 Total detainees arrested for at Least one of the offences below 12,511 17,543 17,370 17,257 Offence CJS Code Offence Title MD71221 Possess class B controlled drug - cannabis (pre Feb 2004) 17 10 1 MD71224 Possess cannabis resin - class B controlled drug (pre Feb 2004) 7 1 MD71241 Possess cannabis with intent to supply (pre Feb 2004) 11 MD71244 Possess cannabis resin with intent to supply (pre Feb 2004) 4 MD71244A Attempt to possess with intent to supply a controlled drug of Class B - Cannabis 1 1 MD71400 Possess cannabis resin with intent to supply a class C controlled drug (pre Feb 2004) 1 MD71404 Possess cannabis resin - class C 1 2 MD71404 Possess cannabis resin a class C controlled drug 570 91 MD71409 Possess with intent to supply cannabis a class C controlled drug (pre Feb 2004) 5 MD71413 Possess cannabis - a class C 1 14 1 3 MD71413 Possess cannabis a class C controlled drug 10,743 1,470 MD71493 Possess with intent to supply cannabis 1,852 217 8 6 MD71494 Possess with intent to supply cannabis resin 92 14 MD71494 Possess with intent to supply cannabis resin - class C 8 7 MD71517 *Possess controlled drug with intent to supply of Class B - Cannabis resin 1 MD71517 Possess controlled drug with intent to supply of Class B - Cannabis resin 194 MD71517 Possess with intent to supply a controlled drug of Class B - Cannabis Resin 174 189 MD71517A Attempt to possess with intent to supply a controlled drug of Class B - Cannabis Resin 3 MD71521 Possess a controlled drug of Class B - cannabis resin 4 5 MD71526 Possess with intent to supply a controlled drug of Class B - cannabis 1,996 MD71526 Possess with intent to supply a controlled drug of Class B - Cannabis 2 3,386 3,710 MD71526A Attempt to possess with intent to supply a controlled drug of Class B - Cannabis 4 2 MD71530 *Possess a controlled drug of Class B - cannabis / cannabis resin 18 MD71530 Possess a controlled drug of Class B - Cannabis / Cannabis Resin 5 15,143 14,691 MD71530 Possess a controlled drug of Class B - cannabis / cannabis resin 3 14,477 MD71530A Attempt to possess a controlled drug of Class B - Cannabis / Cannabis Resin 8 7
IMPORTANT: Please ensure that the Notes Page is read in conjunction with the data in this report to ensure that it is interpreted correctly. The number of detainees that received a Most Serious Disposal of a caution or charge for at least one offence title relating to possession of/possession with intent to supply Cannabis Year of Arrest Most Serious Disposal (Apr-Dec) 2008 2009 2015 2016 Simple Caution 2,274 2,370 2,007 1,797 Conditional Caution 22 42 32 29 Charge 6,978 9,835 10,085 9,496 Grand Total 9,274 12,247 12,124 11,322