Drug Seizures and Offender Characteristics, 2020-2021 and 2021-2022

Analysis of the characteristics of drug possession crimes

Information about the offenders of drug possession crimes and how they came to the attention of the police was also recorded in the sampling process.

Characteristics of offenders

• In both 2020-21 and 2021-22, the vast majority of drug possession crimes were committed by one offender. Only 6% of crimes had multiple offenders in 2020-21, compared to 4% in 2021-22 (these situations can occur where offenders collectively admit to ownership of the seized drugs, or if no one admits to ownership).
• The clear majority of drug possession crimes were committed by males or all male groups (83% in 2020-21 and 80% in 2021-22).
• The median age of a drug possession offender was 30 years old in both years and almost two thirds (65%) of offenders were in the 20-29 and 30-39 years age groups in 2020-21, with 60% coming from these two age groups in 2021-22. Offenders are far more likely to come from these two age groups than would be expected based solely on their size within the general population (27% for 2020-21, 26% for 2021-22). Tables 7a and 7b show the age distribution of the offenders in the sample for each year.

How Police Scotland became aware of drug possession crimes

The circumstances leading to a drug possession seizure have been recorded based on the details of the event within the crime record. As crime records have not been created specifically for this purpose, it has been necessary on occasion to make assumptions around certain aspects of what happened. As such this information should be seen as a broad illustration, rather than a precise measure.

In 2020-21, it is estimated that just over half (54%) of drug possession crimes in the sample were detected by police while on routine patrol. The majority of these were cases where police officers on patrol had a suspicion or observed that the offender was in possession of drugs, with this category accounting for 34% of all records reviewed. A further 20% of records involved police on patrol dealing with another crime, offence or incident and finding drugs while doing this.

Just under a quarter (24%) of drug possession crimes were detected as a result of police responding to a report of a crime, offence or another reported incident, either in relation to the drugs offence or for another matter (either criminal or non-criminal). Just under one-in-ten drug possession seizures (9%) were made by police whilst carrying out a search warrant (likely due to the receipt of intelligence that an individual was involved in drugs crime).

In 2021-22, it is estimated that nearly half (47%) of drug possession crimes in the sample were detected by police while on routine patrol. The majority of these were cases where police officers on patrol had a suspicion or observed that the offender was in possession of drugs, with this category accounting for 30% of all records reviewed. A further 16% of records involved police on patrol dealing with another crime, offence or incident and finding drugs while doing this.

Just over a quarter (28%) of drug possession crimes were assessed to be found as a result of police responding to a report of a crime, offence or another reported incident, either in relation to the drugs offence or for another matter (either criminal or non-criminal). A further 13% of drug possession seizures were made by police whilst carrying out a search warrant (likely due to the receipt of intelligence that an individual was involved in drugs crime).

Other information about the drug possession crimes

• In 2020-21, the most common day of the week for drug possession crimes to take place was a Friday, when 17% of seizures occurred. The least common day was a Monday, with only just under a tenth (9%) of seizures occurring on this day of the week.
• In 2021-22, the most common days of the week for drug possession crimes to take place were a Saturday and a Friday, with 20% and 19% occurring on these days respectively. The least common days were a Monday and a Sunday with only a tenth of seizures occurring on each of these days.
• In both 2020-21 and 2021-22, the most common location for drug possession crimes to take place was the street or other open space with 56% of records reviewed having this locus in 2020-21 and 61% in 2021-22. Dwellings were the next most common locus in both years, where 26% and 21% of drug possession crimes took place in 2020-21 and 2021-22 respectively.