Sharp rise in drug user prosecutions

THERE has been a massive jump in the number of drug users being prosecuted in the courts, new figures show.

Where court proceedings have commenced, almost half have resulted in a conviction. Figures show the number of people being prosecuted for possession of drugs for personal use has almost doubled in the last four years.

There has also been a sharp rise in cases of cultivation or manufacture of drugs.

An analysis of crime data collected by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) shows:

* Prosecutions for possessing drugs rose from 3,276 in 2003 to 6,107 in 2006 (a rise of 86%).

* Prosecutions for supplying drugs increased from 1,715 in 2003 to 2,291 in 1006 (up 34%).

* Total drug offences rose from 5,324 to 8,924 (a rise of 41%).

The analysis, by criminologist Johnny Connolly of the Health Research Board (HRB), showed that possession cases accounted for nearly 70% of all drug prosecutions in 2006, compared to almost 60% in 2003.

The research highlights sharp — and almost identical — increases in prosecutions for heroin and cocaine between 2003 and 2006.

Heroin cases jumped from 995 to 2,364 (up 138%), while cocaine cases rose from 1,015 to 2,442 (up 141%).

Cannabis still accounts for the bulk of offences, with 6,947 such offences in 2006, a rise of 45% over 2003.

The HRB report also published data on court drug proceedings in 2006.

Of the 5,353 prosecutions for possession of drugs that started, 2,507 resulted in a conviction (47%).

This shows that most people prosecuted for possessing drugs are convicted, thereby receiving a criminal record, affecting career prospects and travel to certain countries, such as the US.

Some 413 defendants were given the Probation Act, which doesn’t give a criminal record, while 704 people were not convicted.

Some 1,729 cases were still pending.

However, not all people caught in possession of drugs may be prosecuted.

The figures show a total of 13,488 recorded cases of possession, 8,398 (62%) of which resulted in proceedings.

Separate figures, which include 2007 data, show that prosecutions for supplying drugs rose from 3,025 in 2006 to 3,620 in 2007 (up 20%), while offences for the cultivation, manufacture and importation of drugs jumped from 135 to 214 (up 58%).