Drugs: Misuse
(asked on 27th October 2014) - View Source
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 15 October 2014 to Question 208447, how many people convicted of (a) class A, (b) class B and (c) class C drug offences under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 were fined in each of the last four years.
Sentencing and fines imposed in individual cases are a matter for the independent courts, within the limits set by Parliament and following sentencing guidelines.
The number of persons found guilty, fined and given a custodial sentence for class A, class B and class C drug offences under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, in England and Wales, from 2009 to 2013 (the latest data available) can be viewed in the table below.
| Persons found guilty, fined and given a custodial sentence for class A, class B and class C drug offences under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, England and Wales 2009-2013 (1)(2)(3) | |||||||||
| Total guilty | Total Fine | Immediate Custody | |||||||
| 2009 | |||||||||
| Class A drug offences (4) | 20,293 | 5,915 | 5,627 | ||||||
| Class B drug offences (4) | 25,565 | 11,801 | 1,459 | ||||||
| Class C drug offences (4) | 2,977 | 792 | 625 | ||||||
| Class unspecified drug offences (4) | 271 | 3 | 237 | ||||||
| Various triable either way offences under Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 (5) | 232 | 78 | 40 | ||||||
| Various summary offences under Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 (6) | 3 | 0 | 0 | ||||||
| 2010 | |||||||||
| Class A drug offences (4) | 18,632 | 5,450 | 5,343 | ||||||
| Class B drug offences (4) | 38,284 | 16,678 | 2,969 | ||||||
| Class C drug offences (4) | 1,811 | 600 | 245 | ||||||
| Class unspecified drug offences (4) | 368 | 3 | 296 | ||||||
| Various triable either way offences under Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 (5) | 241 | 79 | 32 | ||||||
| Various summary offences under Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 (6) | 2 | 1 | 0 | ||||||
| 2011 | |||||||||
| Class A drug offences (4) | 16352 | 4766 | 4857 | ||||||
| Class B drug offences (4) | 41524 | 17655 | 3705 | ||||||
| Class C drug offences (4) | 1655 | 591 | 180 | ||||||
| Class unspecified drug offences (4) | 376 | 6 | 316 | ||||||
| Various triable either way offences under Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 (5) | 233 | 81 | 31 | ||||||
| Various summary offences under Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 (6) | 1 | 0 | 0 | ||||||
| 2012 | |||||||||
| Class A Drug | 15184 | 5009 | 4721 | ||||||
| Class B Drugs | 40526 | 15814 | 3428 | ||||||
| Class C Drugs | 1222 | 391 | 96 | ||||||
| Class Unspecified | 288 | 0 | 253 | ||||||
| Various triable either way offences under Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 (5) | 177 | 74 | 13 | ||||||
| 2013 | |||||||||
| Class A Drug | 15,426 | 5,086 | 4,924 | ||||||
| Class B Drugs | 39,407 | 15,162 | 3,280 | ||||||
| Class C Drugs | 1,108 | 334 | 107 | ||||||
| Class Unspecified | 318 | 0 | 271 | ||||||
| Various triable either way offences under Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 (5) | 222 | 97 | 18 | ||||||
| (-) = Nil | |||||||||
| (1) 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 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. | |||||||||
| (2) The conviction statistics relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences the principal offence is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. | |||||||||