Heroin dealers to escape jail: New sentencing proposals mean pushers wouldgofree

[Spiraling Leopard]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1370954/Heroin-dealers-escape-jail-New-sentencing-proposals-mean-pushers-free.html

Drug dealers could in future escape jail even if they sell up to £2,000 worth of heroin.
New guidelines would allow courts to give community penalties to those playing a ‘subordinate’ role in a criminal gang.
The ‘lower level’ offenders – such as drug runners – could keep their liberty even if arrested over the sale of up to 50 grams of heroin or cocaine or up to 100 tablets of ecstasy.
Under the Sentencing Council’s proposals, these quantities would be seen as small. However, 50g is enough for 1,000 hits of heroin or 1,000 lines of cocaine.
Critics of the plans say the wrong message is being sent to criminals.
‘Anyone involved in the drug trade should face a custodial sentence and they should know they face a custodial sentence,’ said Tory MP James Clappison.
‘The idea you can supply 99 people with ecstasy and be described in any way as a minor participant is boggling. Nobody is going to put their hands up in court and say “I’m Mr Big”.’
Jail sentences will be reduced for dealers who say they are sorry or otherwise show remorse, the guidelines suggest.
Terms can be cut for a first offence, or if defendants can prove they were ‘vulnerable’ and were exploited by other dealers.

Further reductions are available for those addicted to the drugs they are selling or ‘lacking in maturity’. Guilty pleas can already see sentences cut by a third.
For cannabis, the punishments are even softer. A subordinate dealer could avoid jail even if they were involved in the supply of up to 50kg of the Class B drug.

Community service would be the ‘starting’ sentence for those who sell less than 1kg of the drug. For less than 100g, they face only a fine.
The Sentencing Council – an independent body comprising judges, prosecutors and police officers – has asked for public views by June 20. The proposals could be put into operation within months.
It is the first time rules for dealing with different drug crimes have been laid out so explicitly.
Under the council’s Drug Offences Guideline, punishments would be graded according to the dealer’s role in the sale, and the quantity and class of the drug involved.
Drug barons who sell very large amounts – defined as 10kg of heroin or cocaine or up to 20,000 tablets of ecstasy – face a ‘starting point’ of 14 years in jail.

But those with a subordinate role can have a much reduced term – ranging from three and a half years in prison to a community order for deals involving  50g of heroin or cocaine, 50 tabs of LSD or 100 ecstasy tablets.
A subordinate is defined as someone who ‘performs a limited function under direction, in an operation which is not their own, for example runners.’
It can also include those employed by major dealers.
Lord Justice Leveson, who chairs the council, said: ‘We want to ensure that those who are responsible for the most serious drug crime receive the longest sentences and that punishments overall are in proportion to the offender’s role and the amount of drugs involved.’
But Dr David Green, director of the Civitas think tank, said the courts should be throwing the book at drug dealers.
‘If we are going to be serious about reducing drug-taking then it’s right to be treating users,’ he said. ‘But dealers are different. They are taking advantage of other people’s weakness and a prison punishment is the proper response.’
Community service will be the ‘starting point’ sentence for users caught with up to 10g of heroin or cocaine, or up to 20 tablets of Ecstasy, the guidelines say. Tougher terms will be handed to prisoners caught with drugs.
Drug mules who bring illegal substances into the country in their luggage or by swallowing them will be regarded as subordinates and will see their average sentences fall sharply.

Justice Secretary Ken Clarke is already under pressure over proposals to cut the number of prison places by 3,000 by 2015, and slash the number of criminals given short sentences.
A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: ‘The Government is considering its response to these proposals. We are committed to tackling the drugs trade, and believe in tough punishments for those who profit from the misery that drugs create.’
A spokesman for the Sentencing Council said: ‘Our proposals take into account the impact of drugs on communities, and all offenders guilty of supplying drugs will have their sentences increased where harm to the community is shown to have occurred.
‘Someone who is found guilty of dealing even a very small quantity of drugs could face a starting point of more than five years in jail, which will be increased if there are further aggravating features.’