Drug Seizures by Scottish Police Forces, 2012-13

3. Notes on statistics used in this bulletin

3.1 Background

3.1.1 This is the third time, following the publication of the 2010-11 and 2011-12 data, that information on drug seizures made by Scottish police forces has been published by the Scottish Government. Prior to this, the Scottish Government had published statistics on the drug seizures made by Scottish police forces on two occasions. These publications contained data from 1996-97 to 2006-07. Historically, the Home Office collected and published the data. The Home Office collected police data from the Scottish Police forces until March 2006.

3.1.2 The statistics in this bulletin and accompanying tables relate to the seizure of drugs controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act (MDA) 1971, which came into force on 1 July 1973. The Act divides drugs into three categories according to their harmfulness. A full list of drugs in each category is given in Schedule 2 to the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, as amended by Orders in Council.

3.1.3 The statistics presented in this bulletin are derived from data returns submitted by the eight legacy Scottish police forces in respect of the aggregated number of drug seizures and the quantity of each type of drug seized. As well as returns for the current year, revised data for the previous year can be submitted, as accurate information about drug seizures may take up to nine months to be processed, depending on the complexity of the operation and other operational factors.

3.1.4 This bulletin does not contain information from the Border Force, British Transport Police and seizures outwith Scotland as a result of Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency (SCDEA) operational activity. SCDEA seizures in Scotland are included in the police force data included in this bulletin. It is not possible to distinguish which seizures had SCDEA involvement.

3.2 Drug classifications

3.2.1 A number of changes to drug classifications have occurred during the time period relating to this bulletin.

• Figures for class B drugs include mephedrone and other cathinone-based drugs, which became controlled drugs on 16 April 2010, though some were already controlled as class C drugs.
• Figures for class A drugs include tapentado, which became a controlled drug on 28 March 2011.
• Figures for class C drugs include amineptine, which became a controlled drug on 28 March 2011.
• Figures for class B drugs include pipradrol-related compounds - including desoxypipradrol (2-DPMP), diphenylmethtlpyrrolidine and diphenylprolinol (D2PM), which became controlled drugs on 13 June 2012.
• Figures for class C drugs include phenazepam, which became a controlled drug on 13 June 2012.

3.3 Information on drug seizures

3.3.1 Seizures involving more than one drug are counted as a single seizure in the total number of seizures, but are counted separately against each individual drug or drug class involved. As a seizure can involve more than one drug, figures for individual drug classes cannot be added together to produce totals. Therefore the number of seizures of drug by class can add up to more than the total number of seizures.

For example, if in a single seizure quantities of cocaine, heroin, herbal cannabis and ketamine were seized, the number of seizures would be as follows:

Overall it would be counted as one seizure. In terms of the different classes of drug it would count as one seizure of class A drugs, one seizure of class B drugs and one seizure of class C drugs. Finally, in terms of the different types of drugs it would be counted as one seizure each of cocaine, heroin, herbal cannabis and ketamine.

3.3.2 A seizure is the result of an operation that is recorded by the police. If the operation undertook raids on several properties this will be recorded as one seizure. Similarly, a single seizure may result in multiple offences and multiple perpetrators.

3.3.3 Accurate information about drug seizures may take up to nine months to be processed, depending on the complexity of the operation and other operational factors. Also, as operations continue, updated information may be available at police force level. Inevitably, the data in this bulletin provide a snap-shot of what the police have recorded at a given time. The definitive number of seizures and quantities recovered at police force level are held by the police.

3.3.4 Drugs can be seized in a variety of forms or preparation types. In Tables 5, 6, 7, 12a, 12b, 13a, 13b, 14a and 14b quantities of drugs have been converted to weights (kg), liquids (litres) or tablets (000s). To present all seized quantities within a given drug type in terms of one comparable unit, conversion factors are applied to estimate the overall quantity for that drug.

3.3.5 Not all drugs that come into the possession of the police have been "seized" in the strictest sense of the word. For example, a member of the public may hand in what appear to be drugs that have been found in the street. These items will be recorded at individual police stations and then destroyed.

3.3.6 Lothian and Borders Police were unable to provide seizure numbers and quantities, where applicable, for the following types of drugs: methylamphetamine, morphine, barbiturates, mephedrone, anabolic steroids, GHB, ketamine and other benzodiazepines. This was for logistical, procedural and operational reasons.

3.4 Other

3.4.1 Under the Code of Practice for Official Statistics, the estimated costs of responding to statistical surveys and data collection are to be published.

The estimated cost of compliance for supplying and validating the data for this bulletin is: £600.

Details of the calculation methodology are available on the Scottish Government Crime and Justice website at:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Crime-Justice/costcalculation

3.4.2 Drug seizures for England and Wales are published by the Home Office in the 'Seizures of drugs in England and Wales' statistical bulletin series.

The latest bulletin for England and Wales contained information for the financial year 2012-13 and was published on 31 October 2013. The bulletin can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/seizures-of-drugs-in-england-and-wales-financial-year-ending-2013.

3.4.3 This bulletin refers to data for 2010-11 which not do not feature in this bulletin but are referred to for contextual purposes. The detailed 2010-11 data on the number and quantities of drugs seized by Scottish police forces can be accessed in the 'Drug Seizures by Scottish Police Forces, 2011-12' bulletin.

3.4.4 Population data are derived from relevant mid-year population estimates prepared by the National Records of Scotland: http://www.gro-scotland.gov.uk/statistics/theme/population/estimates/mid-year/index.html.

3.4.5 The quantities of drugs seized given in Tables 5, 6, 7, 12a, 12b, 13a, 13b, 14a and 14b in this bulletin are generally shown to one decimal place in order to provide a comprehensive record of the information collected. As a consequence, in Tables 5, 6, 7, 12a, 12b, 13a, 13b, 14a and 14b, some quantities are given as 0.0, when they are being shown to one decimal place, even though small quantities of the given drugs were seized. In some tables components may not sum to totals (or the total) because they have been rounded independently.

3.4.6 The following symbols are used throughout the tables in this bulletin:

- = nil.
NA = denotes figure is not available.
n/r = not reported (a percentage change figure is not reported if the denominator is less than ten as any resulting figure may be misleading).