MPs examine criminal justice approach to drugs

• Watch Parliament TV: Problem drug use in Scotland
• Inquiry: Problem drug use in Scotland
• Scottish Affairs Committee

Impact of criminal justice sanctions

In the fifth session for its inquiry into problem drug use in Scotland, the Scottish Affairs Committee will examine whether criminal justice interventions – such as custodial sentences and criminal records – are an effective method of addressing problem drug use. In the first panel, the Committee will question drugs charities on the real-life impacts criminal sanctions can have and assess whether imprisonment is an effective deterrent or a barrier to recovery.

Decriminalisation

In the second panel, the Committee will ask a member of the Government's Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs why the Home Office appears to have repeatedly ignored expert advice to liberalise drug laws. The Committee will also hear how Thames Valley Police and Durham Police have introduced de facto decriminalisation through diversion schemes, in which people caught in possession of small amounts of drugs are directed towards treatment instead of facing criminal prosecution. The Committee will then question Police Scotland on what it is doing to combat drug trafficking, and whether similar approaches could prove effective in Scotland.

Witnesses

Tuesday 2 July 2019, Room 8, Palace of Westminster

At 10.15am - Sector groups:

• Dave Liddell, CEO, Scottish Drugs Forum
• Martin Powell, Transform Drug Policy Foundation
• Jim Duffy, Law Enforcement Action Partnership UK

At 11.15am - Police bodies:

• Professor Alex Stevens, University of Kent; Advisory Council on Misuse of Drugs
• Assistant Chief Constable Steve Johnson, Police Scotland
• Detective Chief Inspector Jason Kew, Drugs Policy Lead, Thames Valley Police
• Ron Hogg, Police and Crime Commissioner, Durham Police

Further information

• About Parliament: Select committees
• Visiting Parliament: Watch committees

Image: Unsplash