Drugs-related offences recorded and court proceedings

Statistics on drugs-related offences recorded by the police are available from quarterly statistical returns made by the Scottish police forces to the Scottish Office Home Department.

Statistics on persons prosecuted for drugs-related offences are available from the Scottish Office Home Department’s court proceedings database. They are derived from the information on court proceedings held on the police operational computer at the Scottish Criminal Record Office.

Offences are recorded in the year in which the offender was sentenced, which will in many cases not be the year in which the offence was committed. If a person was sentenced for drugs offences on more than one occasion during a single year, each occasion is recorded separately. Offenders with more than one offence (dealt with at the same court appearance) are counted as a single offender in the total number offenders, and are classified by the main offence (i.e. the one with the severest penalty).

Table 45 Drugs-related offences recorded by Scottish police forces : 1997

Table 46 Persons proceeded against in Scottish courts for drugs offences 1 : 1987-1997

Table 47 Persons convicted in Scottish courts of drugs offences 1 : 1987-1997

Table 48 Persons convicted in Scottish courts of drugs offences 1 : 1987-1997

Table 49 Persons convicted in Scottish courts of drugs offences 1 : 1987-1997