Decriminalisation can lead to improved social outcomes
Crime
The 2016 Drug Policy Modelling Program (DPMP) briefing paper on the decriminalisation of drug use and possession reported that research has shown that decriminalisation does not lead to increases in crime (e.g. through perceptions of weaker laws). Indeed, people who do not receive a criminal record are much less likely to engage in future crime or have subsequent contact with the criminal justice system. The DPMP briefing paper also pointed out that there is no evidence that decriminalisation leads to other types of crime, such as supply or drug-related crime.
decriminalisation does not lead to increases in crime (DPMP)
A 2016 review of the Portuguese evidence commented that an increase in the number of seizures of illicit drugs after the introduction of the new drugs strategy indicated that the new drug strategy has succeeded in shifting the attention of law enforcement agents away from minor drug offenders towards major traffickers.
The DPMP briefing paper cited research showing that decriminalisation policies can lead to less use of police, court and prison. For example, total law enforcement costs in California dropped from US$17 million in the first half of 1975 (before decriminalisation) to $4.4 million in the first half of 1976 (after decriminalisation). At the same time, the DPMP noted that there was evidence of ‘net-widening’ as a consequence of decriminalisation. Net-widening occurs when more people are sanctioned after than before reform, owing to the greater ease with which police can process minor drug offences. The DPMP commented that the extent of net widening depends on the framework of non-criminal sanctions adopted and how they are implemented (e.g. whether the consequences for non-compliance are more severe than the original offence and the extent of police discretion). The conclusion is that the way in which decriminalisation is implemented is very important.
Social Costs
With regard to social costs, the DPMP briefing paper cited evidence from a number of countries, showing that decriminalisation can lead to improved social outcomes. For example, individuals who avoid a criminal record are less likely to drop out of school early, be sacked or to be denied a job. They are also less likely to have fights with their partners, family or friends or to be evicted from their accommodation. The DPMP briefing paper also cited an analysis of the social costs in the wake of the Portuguese strategy, which found that the social costs of illicit drug use declined by 18% in the 11 years after the new drug strategy was introduced, based on declines in costs to the legal and the health systems.
A 2016 review of the Portuguese evidence commented that an increase in the number of seizures of illicit drugs after the introduction of the new drugs strategy indicated that the new drug strategy has succeeded in shifting the attention of law enforcement agents away from minor drug offenders towards major traffickers.
Recidivism
‘the excessive use of imprisonment for drug-related offences of a minor nature is indeed ineffective in reducing recidivism and overburdens criminal justice systems, preventing them from efficiently coping with more serious crime'
Executive Director UNODC
In 2016 the Executive Director of UNODC stated that the available evidence indicated that ‘the excessive use of imprisonment for drug-related offences of a minor nature is indeed ineffective in reducing recidivism and overburdens criminal justice systems, preventing them from efficiently coping with more serious crime. The provision of evidence-based treatment and care services to drug-using offenders, as an alternative to incarceration, has been shown to substantially increase recovery and reduce recidivism.’
- Decriminalisation of drug use and possession in Australia – A briefing note Drug Policy Modelling Program (DPMP
- Decriminalisation and public health: the Portuguese approach to drug policy. Prof Alex Stevens, University of Kent, UK and Dr Caitlin E Hughes, Drug Policy Modelling Program, NSW, Australia
- Executive Director of UNODC Contribution to UNGASS 2016