School children smoking weed on mum's property
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I'd go with the local councillor especially if they live fairly local. We had similar trouble not far from here a few years ago. Then there were the local council elections & the elected councillor lived near there. Less than 2 weeks after that it had all stopped & has never come back.0
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Email the school your photos of their pupils with a P .S that you have also copied in the local paper, all parliamentary candidates and police (you could call their bluff or you could actually send them!)
Do this tonight so it will be ready for them first thing Monday.Life is like a bath, the longer you are in it the more wrinkly you become.0 -
They're not getting arrested for dealing simply for sharing out a bit of weed with their mates. It simply isn't happening.
I really think the weed element is unlikely to get the police out, as I said it's barely illegal anymore and most police won't care. The repeated criminal damage should make them sit up and take notice though.
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Oh dear, how naive of you.
Whilst the offence is commonly refered to as dealing, the actual offence is 'possession of a controlled drug with intent to supply another' and/or 'Supplying or offering to supply a controlled drug'. Whilst that does normally mean for monetry gain, it actually covers any form of supply.
Where is is amongst friends , if is commonly referred to as social supply.
But believe me, it is illegal, the police are interested and the offenders will and do end up in court for such criminality.
(I'm not quite sure how something can be "barely illegal"; that seems to me similar to someone claiming to be "barely pregnant" :cool: )
I would remind you that cannabis is classed as a class B controlled substance along with the likes of amphet, speed and barbituates, not class C which is lower and includes things such as valium and anabolic steroids.
For a small amount of weed (less than 100g) being supplied in the absence of any financial gain, for example by sharing a minimal quantity between peers on non-commercial basis, it would usually be classed as a lesser role/cat4 offence.
(in the absence of any more serious matters)
But it is still a criminal offence, for which a criminal sentence will be imposed upon conviction.
And when someone is convicted, it gets listed under one or both of the above mentioned offences along with any other drug dealer who is convicted of a similar class drug....
To be fair two of those aren't illegal, two are barely illegal but one is a fairly serious crime. The police should be interested in the break in, can't see them caring much about the rest.
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Again, sadly a very naive approach.
Actually they are all illegal with the exception of those under age consuming alcohol in public (where no PSPO exists), but even that I am led to believe is illegal in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Having said that, police will still attend as criminalality may have occured by them or others in how they obtained the alcohol in the first instance, and also police have powers under the Confiscation of Alcohol (Young Persons) Act 1997 Act to confiscate and dispose of such alcohol, and may also take those involved home or to a place of safety.
But the drinking itself is not a criminal offence, agreed. But the consumption of alcohol can lead to criminalty, such as being drunk and disorderly.
Again, I have no idea what you mean by "barely illegal" :huh:0 -
If there is no obvious evidence of dealing, the person has an amount which would normally be for personal use and it is their first time of being caught then the best you can hope for is a street caution.Simple possession of cannabis is the easiest nick.
It's an absolute offence. i.e. needs no evidence of intent; the possession itself is proof of the offence.
The only possible argument sometimes foolishly put forward is that it's not cannabis they are smoking, in which case simple forensic analysis will establish whether it is or not.
Also, as I mentioned, there could well be one or more cases of supply here, unless they all went off to a local dealer elsewhere and each purchased their own drugs before all congregating in the car park for a communal puff. :cool:
Warnings are only given for possession, not usually for supply, and are only ever given once for the offence. It's at the officers discretion, and whilst a warning does not create admission of any criminal offence, it is recorded by police so that is why it won't be given again. It can also be brought to the attention of a court at later date, if the same person later ends up there for any other matter.
But that is not to denigrate from the list of other criminal activities these teenagers have/are allegedly committing, and in those circumstances it is unlikely a police warning would be considered appropriate.
Be aware a police warning is not the same as a police caution. A police cuation may be considered appropriate, but that relies on the perpetrator admitting the crime, and so they are then classed as a criminal.
Any even half decent school would, inho, inform the police if they had any reason to suspect anyone of their pupils (or staff) had possession. let alone used, illegal narcotics. This is a lot more serious than having a puff of tabacco behind the bike sheds.
If you were to spend even a day in almost any court in this land, you will find about 50% if not more of the cases are related to the scourge of our modern society i.e. illegal drugs, whether that is possession, supply or just other matters directly associated with such use, from affray & petty theft to knife crime & GBH ... and worse.
It would be wrong to think the police are not fully aware of this, and do not bring perpetrators before the courts where deemed appropriate, for it is they that have to pick up the pieces later if they don't.0 -
unforeseen wrote: »If there is no obvious evidence of dealing, the person has an amount which would normally be for personal use and it is their first time of being caught then the best you can hope for is a street caution.
Correct, if when you are referring to "best" you mean in terms of those involved in the criminality.
But please refer to my post#18 as to why, with a little investigation, (often simple questioning those involved will be enough) there could be good grounds for at least one to possibly be convicted of supply
As I have previously mentioned, a police caution can only be given if the person involved admits their crime ... and it then leaves that person with a criminal record, which can adversely affect some job prospects, travel to certain countries (such as the USA), etc0 -
Oh dear, how naive of you.
Whilst the offence is commonly refered to as dealing, the actual offence is 'possession of a controlled drug with intent to supply another' and/or 'Supplying or offering to supply a controlled drug'. Whilst that does normally mean for monetry gain, it actually covers any form of supply.
Where is is amongst friends , if is commonly referred to as social supply.
But believe me, it is illegal, the police are interested and the offenders will and do end up in court for such criminality.
(I'm not quite sure how something can be "barely illegal"; that seems to me similar to someone claiming to be "barely pregnant" :cool: )
I would remind you that cannabis is classed as a class B controlled substance along with the likes of amphet, speed and barbituates, not class C which is lower and includes things such as valium and anabolic steroids.
For a small amount of weed (less than 100g) being supplied in the absence of any financial gain, for example by sharing a minimal quantity between peers on non-commercial basis, it would usually be classed as a lesser role/cat4 offence.
(in the absence of any more serious matters)
But it is still a criminal offence, for which a criminal sentence will be imposed upon conviction.
And when someone is convicted, it gets listed under one or both of the above mentioned offences along with any other drug dealer who is convicted of a similar class drug.
Again, sadly a very naive approach.
Actually they are all illegal with the exception of those under age consuming alcohol in public (where no PSPO exists), but even that I am led to believe is illegal in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Having said that, police will still attend as criminalality may have occured by them or others in how they obtained the alcohol in the first instance, and also police have powers under the Confiscation of Alcohol (Young Persons) Act 1997 Act to confiscate and dispose of such alcohol, and may also take those involved home or to a place of safety.
But the drinking itself is not a criminal offence, agreed. But the consumption of alcohol can lead to criminalty, such as being drunk and disorderly.
Again, I have no idea what you mean by "barely illegal" :huh:
You appear to know what I mean by dealing but if you'd rather I can over inflate my post by listing the exact legal wording for the crime each time instead. I'm well aware of how the law works. I'm also well aware of how it'll work in reality. If there are a group of friends smoking weed together none of them are getting arrested for supplying the drug, it simply isn't happening. They'll ask the individuals where they got the drugs from and when they answer "a friend" or refuse to answer at all that'll be the end of the matter.
And when I say "barely illegal" I mean something which is technically illegal but the police don't really care about or the punishment is basically non existent. A lot of police forces turn a blind eye to cannabis possession which is clearly demonstrated in this post by the fact the police won't come out. You can push an agenda of how serious a crime this is all you want, doesn't make it so.
I'd also be interested to see what crime "being intimidating" falls under. Sure, the actions that cause the intimidation could be illegal but being intimidating is not illegal in itself.
The hypocrisy displayed in your post when you call me naive and then post that is astounding. 0 -
Dear all, Thank you for your responses. I haven't checked until now and am really grateful for your replies. I agree, it is a criminal offence. In fact, a few of my mum's neighbours and a friend at the next block of flats have called the police more than once when the teens have been loitering and have had the same (frustrating) response of non-action. The one time I was told the police would be sent out to patrol the area, I waited for over two hours and no one turned up. Although most definitely a criminal offence, I get the impression that smoking weed is far down on their priority list and, as a result, more and more teens are learning it is a 'safe' blindspot in which to smoke and, as teens do, p*ss on the walls, leave litter, shout abuse at residents and break into cars, so it has a domino effect. I have emailed the head teacher of the school, and my mum has phoned the school directly. Thus far, nothing has been done and I've had no response. I will, this weekend, email our local MP candidate though I imagine he has a lot on his place currently.
Teens smoking weed occasionally is one thing but this is every day, and more and more groups. It makes the area feel quite unsafe and I now avoid the carpark for fear of being attacked, verbally or otherwise.0 -
But your local councillors are still in post, and should be able to get something done about this. If not your local councillor, someone will have a lead role in policing, and your councillor can lean on them to lean on the police.I will, this weekend, email our local MP candidate though I imagine he has a lot on his place currently.
Where I live, the police have admitted that their responses depend at least in part on how vocal local people are. If there are multiple complaints about dealing, vandalism, kerb-crawling etc from a particular street, they WILL respond by patrolling that area more visibly ... until those in the area the 'nuisance' has moved on to start complaining. They know it happens, but what can they do?
The trick is to make sure that those affected around your mum's place are the ones making the most noise NOW, and ready to start it up again if the problem recurs.Signature removed for peace of mind0 -
IMO it will escalate, as word gets around it is a safe zone for this kind of antisocial behaviour
For years , I lived in an area that was lovely at first, but (over time) became this, that just got worse and worse over time...at first it was a few teenagers having a spliff .............. but it developed in to large crowds on a nightly basis and high street drug use, smoking cannabis, laughing gas, and drug deals going on etc. It was like a rabbit warren of alleyways all leading off a cul de sac - so a perfect layout for them really
As time went on, it became a place where deals would go on, cars pulling up 24/7 blasting loud music - and the noise was literally unbelievable, some nights you would look out and there would be 30 people there. And they would still be there when I left for work at 6am wading through the laughing gas canisters
I cannot even tell you the amount of times me and other neighbours would ring the police. Hundreds. Maybe thousands.
If anything, phoning the police made it worse, as the odd times the police would cruise up the street - with their blue lights on, the crowd would disperse and then regather within the hour laughing because they knew the police could/would do nothing - and it kind of reinforced the fact they were untouchable pretty much.
When a huge number of them were gathered one night, someone was assaulted and ended up brain damaged
We got the local councillor involved, then the local MP, the local newspaper ran an article - to try and petition for CCTV. There was no budget for this.
It was awful it was like we were under siege and no one would help - and the only way was to move houseThe opposite of what you know...is also true0 -
Dear all, Thank you for your responses. I haven't checked until now and am really grateful for your replies. I agree, it is a criminal offence. In fact, a few of my mum's neighbours and a friend at the next block of flats have called the police more than once when the teens have been loitering and have had the same (frustrating) response of non-action. The one time I was told the police would be sent out to patrol the area, I waited for over two hours and no one turned up. Although most definitely a criminal offence, I get the impression that smoking weed is far down on their priority list and, as a result, more and more teens are learning it is a 'safe' blindspot in which to smoke and, as teens do, p*ss on the walls, leave litter, shout abuse at residents and break into cars, so it has a domino effect. I have emailed the head teacher of the school, and my mum has phoned the school directly. Thus far, nothing has been done and I've had no response. I will, this weekend, email our local MP candidate though I imagine he has a lot on his place currently.
Teens smoking weed occasionally is one thing but this is every day, and more and more groups. It makes the area feel quite unsafe and I now avoid the carpark for fear of being attacked, verbally or otherwise.
If you were informed police would attend, I'm sure they did ... but you may not have known about it. They tend not to turn up to such incidents in a battenburged car with twos & blues blaring for obvious reasons referred to above.
You may not see them, but that does not mean they are not there.;)
I remember once calling police to report a couple of suspicious males, 20-25yo, in a small car regularly coming and going one day from a private parking area near us.
What the police didn't tell me at the time, but I found out later, is it was an unmarked police car with 2 plain clothed officers responding to a call about suspected drug use in that car parking area. I had no idea at the time.
What I also learned was to just keep calling in every time you see suspicious activity. Sometimes the police are unable to attend at the time due to more pressing incidents elsewhere, but each time you call it will be logged. And that allows the police to build up a picture of what areas to regularly patrol and when.0
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