Recorded police warnings were introduced by the SNP government for ‘low-level offences’ in 2016. More than 10,000 offenders a year were fined or otherwise prosecuted under the previous rules. She said warnings would be issued only to people caught in possession of drugs and not those who supply them.Īnd she insisted it was not decriminalisation because recorded police warnings were an ‘enforcement of the law’. 'Police officers may therefore choose to issue a recorded police warning for simple possession offences for all classes of drugs.’ ‘I have considered the review and I have decided that an extension of the recorded police warning guidelines to include possession offences for Class A drugs is appropriate. Long-term meth users may develop life-long problems with verbal skills, memory, and may even develop. However, I can confirm the guidelines previously permitted the police to issue recorded police warnings for possession of Class B and Class C drugs. For 20 years, scientific evidence has shown that long-term use of meth depletes supplies of dopamine by damaging dopamine receptors in the brain.24 Studies indicate that this brain damage can be permanent. ‘They extend beyond drug possession offences and are therefore properly confidential. ‘These guidelines are set by me, acting independently of any other person. Miss Bain said: ‘As Lord Advocate, I issue guidelines to the police in relation to the operation of this scheme, including which offences may be considered for a recorded police warning. The grim toll went up 5 per cent last year, the seventh annual rise in a row, as the country continued to have the worst fatality rate in Europe It followed a review ordered by her predecessor James Wolffe QC. The dramatic change of approach was announced by Miss Bain in her first appearance in the Holyrood chamber since being appointed Lord Advocate. 'I don’t know who they’ve consulted on this, if anyone, but it is basically just throwing in the towel.’ ‘I feel sorry for the officers who will have to implement this – they don’t want to be turning a blind eye to crime.
It will have no benefits at all and it comes in the middle of a huge drugs emergency – it’s more soft-touch nonsense. ‘The answer to our drugs crisis is more access to treatment, not this de facto decriminalisation by the back door.’ Tom Buchan, a former chief superintendent with now-defunct Strathclyde Police, said: ‘This is a surrender – the white flag has gone up. ‘Scotland’s drug death crisis is our national shame, but the way to tackle it is to improve access to treatment and rehabilitation, not to dilute how seriously we treat possession of deadly drugs like heroin, crystal meth and crack cocaine. ‘We need to fully scrutinise the gravity of a decision of such importance and magnitude.
Meth crack back full#
'The Scottish parliament must have a say with a full debate and vote on this topic, not just a quick Q&A session,’ said Scottish Conservative justice spokesman Jamie Greene. Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain QC told the Scottish Parliament today that those caught with even the hardest Class A drugs could be given a Recorded Police Warning rather than being taken to court.
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