Are Police Even Further Away From Cannabis Prosecution?

(Cannabis “has never been a top priority”, police say. Image: Rex)

Tackling cannabis crime “has never been a top priority”, according to police.

A top police officer has admitted that, due to budget cuts, forces across the country are moving away from cracking down on typical offences.

Sara Thornton, leader of the National Police Chiefs’ Council said: “Crime is changing in this country. There are a lot fewer burglaries than there used to be and a lot less car crime.

“The sorts of crimes that are on the increase, sexual offences, concerns about terrorism, cyber crime, that’s where we really need to focus.

“We need to move from reacting to those traditional crimes to thinking about focusing on threat and harm and risk and really protecting the public.”

Discussing with the BBC yesterday whether a report of someone growing cannabis would result in an investigation, she said: “That might depend on the circumstances. What we need to do is respond in proportion to the nature of the offence.”

Ms Thornton added: “It has never been a top priority to go looking for cannabis in people’s houses. It is however against the law. If somebody was caught, they would be dealt with at the very lower end of the scale.”

She pointed out that what police “are most concerned about is organised crime – those growing cannabis on an industrial scale.”