"The south London borough which is piloting a scheme to treat cannabis offenders more leniently has seen a dramatic drop in the level of street crimes.
The number of robberies and muggings in Lambeth has halved in the last six months, and the latest figures for this month show the trend is continuing."
The article goes on to say we should be wary of seeing the whole of Lambeth's reduction in crime as being a result of the cannabis scheme. However, as a longtime resident of Brixton, I can vouch for the fact that it is a significant factor, as the police are now seen by the community here as tolerant and, more importantly THEY'RE ON OUR SIDE, and aren't seen as working in opposition to the local residents. Brixton is changing for the better. I don't know if this scheme would work everywhere else as Brixton is a pretty unique part of London and the UK, but my hunch is that it would work and should be tried elsewhere.
More info at...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/uk/england/newsid_2014000/2014861.stm
|
