Cannabis users to be given on-the-spot warnings to free up police time
The change in enforcing drug laws is part of a major overhaul of how officers handle petty offending to free up police and prosecutors’ time
Thursday, December 10, 2015
People caught with small quantities of cannabis will face on-the-spot warnings from police rather than prosecution. Scottish officers will next month start issuing new "Recorded Police Warnings" to many of the tens of thousands of people a year found committing minor offences such as carrying cannabis. Senior police sources stress they are looking for a "proportionate" and "effective" disposal to the kind of offences that until now would either result in a fixed-penalty notice or a report to the Crown Office that ended either in no proceedings or a fiscal warning.