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Written question asked by Paul Flynn (Labour) on Friday, 9 October 2015, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 14 October 2015 (named day). A holding answer was provided on Wednesday, 14 October 2015. A substantive answer was provided by Mike Penning (Conservative) on Thursday, 15 October 2015 on behalf of the Home Office.


Cannabis: Police Cautions

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people were cautioned for possession of cannabis in each of the last 10 years.

Answer

The data requested can be found in the accompanying table.

Offenders cautioned for possession of cannabis, England and Wales, 2005-2014(1)(2)(3)(4)

Offence

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

Possession of cannabis(4)

21,117

20,370

21,247

22,823

20,609

18,870

19,255

16,985

15,493

12,672

(1) The cautions statistics relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When an offender has been cautioned for two or more offences at the same time the principal offence is the more serious offence.

(2) From 1 June 2000 the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 came into force nationally and removed the use of cautions for persons under 18 and replaced them with reprimands and warnings. These figures have been included in the totals.

(3) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.

(4) Data includes S.5(2) & Sch 4 Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 - "Having possession of a controlled drug:- Cannabis or cannabis resin"

Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services - Ministry of Justice.

[Ref: PQc 11261]


Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
11261
Session
2015-16
Subjects
Cannabis Police cautions
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk