UK: Cannabis Warning

[Urnik]

Ok so i got one of them "Cannabis warning"s last night, i want to know anything and everything about them such as

How long they stay on police records

Will i be arrested next time for posession? (he said i would be arrested next time no matter what amount i had, but police lie, alot. so....)


anyone else had one of these?

[Mohksha]

so... did he just take your stuff... Is that all that happened. was it a ticket or just a piece of paper or what? i've never heard of this. give me details...

[Nickolaas]

You will get a 'Cannabis Warning Form' if you get caught in possession of pot and you...

*Are over 18.
*Not in the vacinity of a school or in the company of minors.
*Have no previous drugs charges.
*Only have a small amount (personal use).

It is not the same as a charge or a caution. You do not have to declare it when you go for job interviews (even in-depth government police check type interviews). It will not show up on any Employer reference checks that are done through police.

NO - YOU DO NOT HAVE A 'POLICE RECORD'.

The Police will probably keep the record of the stop on a computer somewhere forever (that's generally what the police do).

YOU WILL probably GET ARRESTED NEXT TIME. The police will do a 'name check' on you with their control room, it will flag up that you have been given a warning in the past. The next time you get caught you will get nicked, taken to the station and given a short interview where they will ask you...

What is it? Is it yours? Is it just for personal use? and maybe where did you get it. The interview will last 5 mins. You will probably get a caution the second and third time you get caught (depending on the circumstances). The idea is - don't get caught!

FYI - in the UK, Police are so heavily targeted on other things (street robbery, domestic violence, etc. etc.) that Cannabis really isn't one of their priorities. I've known Police to change the spelling of a persons name and change their date of birth slightly so that they can get away with issuing a person a second 'warning form', instead of arresting them.

Basically, the officer will have taken your conviscated pot back to the station and booked it in to be destroyed. They would have filled in a log called a 'book 66'. The reference number from this log will have been attached to your warning form and passed to an office. The office will complete a report to say that the Pot was found, and where, when, who, etc. The report is then closed and it disappears into the ether.

It is very unlikely that a warning will ever come back to bite you, unless you are caught again and again.

The government are changing things at the moment, in the future it is going to go back to an immediate arrest for possession of cannabis.

Hit me back with any questions...

[Flameon]

Nickolaas

Excellent (and very comprehensive) answer, thanks for that, and useful to know.

I pretty much share your views on how the UK police currently view cannabis possession, and have seen similar instances of apathy.

Just as an anecdote, a local 'beat' officer I know caught a kid with a small amount and couldn't be bothered to process him, so instead, just gave him an ear bashing and confiscated his stash.

Strangely, he then gave it to me.
Luckily I have ..ahem.. now 'destroyed the evidence'.
:thumbsup: