ON-THE-SPOT FINE CALL FOR SMALL AMOUNTS OF CANNABIS

Most Police Officers Surveyed Want To Extend Fixed-Penalty Notices

People caught with small amounts of cannabis for their own use should
get off with an on-the-spot fine, most police officers believe.

A survey conducted as part of a review of fixed-penalty notices for
antisocial behaviour found that extending their use to possession of
"personal amounts" of cannabis was popular among police officers, with
83% in favour.

Police are allowed to issue UKP40 fines for 10 specified offences in
Scotland. A total of 94% of the 65,500 fines issued between April 2007
and March 2009 were for three categories breach of the peace,
drinking in public, and urinating/defecating in public.

If an offender accepts and pays the fine, no further action is taken
and it is not recorded as a criminal conviction. If challenged, the
issue goes to court.

Eight out of 10 officers surveyed for the research were positive about
the use of on-the-spot fines. They were regarded as simple, reduced
red tape, and were better suited to dealing with the high volume of
minor offences in town and city centres in the evening and at weekends.

Estimates are that they save almost 22,000 hours of police time a
year.

"These time savings were perceived to lead to greater flexibility for
the deployment of police officers and greater levels of visible
policing in peak times," the report said. Officers did not regard
possession of small amounts of cannabis as a high-priority crime and
spoke about its relatively minor links to crimes of violence and
disorder compared with alcohol.

It recommended that consideration should be given to expanding
fixed-penalty notices to include other offences such as minor theft
and minor assault.

Labour justice spokesman Richard Baker accused the SNP of being soft
on crime.

"There will be concern at extending fixed-penalty notices to cover
offences such as minor assault, particularly as under the SNP so few
of these fines are actually being paid," he said. Appalled

"That doesn't send out the right message on offending and it does not
serve victims of crime."

Tory community justice spokesman John Lamont said the government must
resist "dumbing down the justice system".

"I am, therefore, appalled at the suggestion in this report that we
should include further crimes like assault, shoplifting, fireworks
offences, street trading offences and cannabis possession on this
list," he said.

Liberal Democrat justice spokesman Robert Brown said: "While there is
a place for fixed-penalty notices as part of our justice system, I am
very wary about the extent of the proposals outlined today."

The Scottish Government said no decision will be made until all
relevant bodies are consulted.

Lothian and Borders Chief Constable David Strang, criminal justice
chairman with the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland,
said fixed penalty notices have proved an effective method of dealing
with low-level antisocial behaviour.

"The possession of small amounts of cannabis for personal use and
whether fixed-penalty notices would be a proper and proportionate
response will be one of the areas which will be discussed in the
coming months," he said.

Community Safety Minister Fergus Ewing said the report showed that the
fines had given police more time to tackle crime rather than filling
in forms.

"We want to ensure that there is swift and visible justice for those
who commit acts of antisocial behaviour in our communities and they
pay up for their unacceptable actions, while those committing more
serious crimes have to answer to the courts," he said.