The Netherlands Drug Situation 2010 - Trimbos-instituut

9 Drug related crime, prevention of drug related crimeand prison9.1 Drug related crime9.1.1 Drug law offencesThe most important law with regards to drug offences is the Opium Act, in which trafficking,production and cultivation, dealing and possession of drugs are defined as criminalacts.This paragraph will report about Opium Act offences, including organised crime in relationto drugs. The figures cover offences that are registered by police and law enforcementagencies or have been reported in scientific research.Not all Opium Act offences result in custody or prosecution. If the offence concerns possessionof small amounts for own use of a hard drug, the drugs will be seized, but normallythere will be no custody, and in the event of prosecution, this should only aim atdiversion to care. Small amounts of a hard drug are defined as one tablet, ample, wrappleor ball of the drug and in any case an amount of no more than 0,5 grams (OpenbaarMinisterie 2010). If the offence concerns small amounts of cannabis (no more than 5grams, no more than 5 plants), the drugs will also be seized, but a dismissal by the policeis the normal reaction; there will be no custody and no prosecution (Openbaar Ministerie2010).Drug use is not defined as a criminal offence in the Opium Act. Local acts, however, mayinclude bans of blowing of cannabis in the public domain and there can be zero-toleranceof drug use at certain dance-events (see Chapter 1).In the next paragraphs registration data are presented from (National) Police Forces andthe Public Prosecutor. It should be noted that these data always depend for a certain parton the activities, priorities and skills of law enforcement agencies. Also, databases areoften adapted and improved in the course of time and figures are cleaned and adaptedevery year. As a consequence, later versions may differ from former ones. We have todeal with ‘living systems’. Due to recent major changes in information systems and underlyingdatabases in the criminal justice chain, especially the most recent data of 2009have a preliminary character. Figures and trends should therefore be interpreted withcaution. We present the current updates.The Opium Act distinguishes between soft drugs (like cannabis or hallucinogenic mushrooms– dried as well as fresh ones) and hard drugs (like heroin, cocaine, ecstasy,amphetamines). The figures include this distinction whenever possible.With regards to activities and priorities of law enforcement, it is important to note thatthe programme ‘Strengthening of approaches against organised crime’ is running since2007 (T.K.29911-10). The organised crime in relation to heroin, cocaine, synthetic drugs,and the organised large scale cultivation of cannabis are priority areas for police andprosecution in the period 2008-2012 (Boerman et al. 2008, T.K.29911-17). The approachescontain a combination of administrative and preventive measures, criminal justiceapproaches and international co-operation. There is a close link with activities119