Clause 5 - Limits on period of detention without charge
Criminal Justice Bill
9:10 am
Mr James Clappison (Hertsmere, Conservative)
My hon. Friend is drawing on his legal experience, which I am afraid is much more contemporary than mine. Let me, however, put to him another example of what he has described. I have in mind what some people would see as a relatively less serious arrestable offence, although it is still serious in its own way. Under clause 9, to which we shall come shortly, cannabis will be reclassified as a class C drug, and possession will punishable by two years' imprisonment. It will therefore no longer be an arrestable offence unless it is specifically made one, as clause 9 proposes. Will he confirm that the possession of cannabis is one of the offences to which clause 5 will extend the power of detention?