People caught with small amounts of cannabis to be warned rather than prosecuted

The move is part of a change in how officers deal with petty crimes to free up police and prosecutors’ time for more serious offending.

Next month, police will issue “Recorded Police Warnings” to tens of thousands of individuals a year found to be committing minor offences including possessing cannabis, petty shoplifting and urinating in the street.

Police Scotland sources stressed they are aiming for “proportionate” and “effective” disposals to the types of offences that would otherwise be dealt with using fixed-penalty notices or reports to the Crown Office – which would ultimately end in a fiscal warning or no proceedings being taken.

In recent years casual cannabis smokers have faced no more than a written rebuke but they can now expect to avoid the trouble of formal reports being made to procurators fiscal.

One source told The Herald: “We think a warning on the spot – from an officer using his or her discretion – is much more effective than a letter in the post months later saying nothing will be done.

“This means that officers will not have to spend their time writing standard prosecution reports and can do police work instead.”

The move, which will come into effect on January 11, brings Scotland into line with England and Wales.

It replaces the old adult police warnings used in the legacy force, of which only a “low thousand” were issued every year and none for drug offences.

Sources said they are for roughly 45 per cent of offences that do not result in a full prosecution in the courts.

The Crown uses the “Lord Advocate’s guidelines” to determine whether or not to prosecute. These guidelines will also be relied on when officers issue the new warnings.

However, they are not available to the public which means the value of “a small quantity” of cannabis is unknown.

In other jurisdictions, such as the Netherlands, there are clear rules on the permissible quantity of cannabis a person can carry without risking prosecution.

But Scottish law enforcement officers said police will use their discretion and would, for example, treat a person alone with a joint differently from someone using one in the presence of children.

Crown sources added the warnings would only be usable on people possessing the drug and even then would only apply to a small proportion of people.

They added they would not apply to offences concerning the supply of the drug.

A Crown Office spokesman said the new system would allow prosecutors and courts “to focus on more serious crimes while giving police the range of powers they need to respond quickly and appropriately to very minor offences”.