Police are now scared to stop and search suspects if they smell cannabis, officers revealed yesterday.
Chief constables have called for those on the frontline to take a tougher line on the class B drug.
But concerns were raised by Brian Booth, deputy national chairman of the Police Federation of England and Wales.
Head of the College of Policing Sir Andy Marsh has urged officers to act when they smell cannabis on the street as it is a ‘sign of crime and disorder’.
He told the Mail the stench makes even him ‘feel unsafe’.
The call from Britain’s longest-serving chief constable, backed by the heads of Greater Manchester Police and Merseyside Police, has been welcomed by public safety experts.
But yesterday the Police Federation, which represents rank and file officers, revealed many are worried they could lose their jobs if a complaint is made about the search, which could take the police watchdog years to investigate.
Mr Booth said: ‘As an organisation, our position is that if this is a priority for senior officers, then make it a priority and we will deal with it.
Head of the College of Policing Sir Andy Marsh has urged officers to act when they smell cannabis on the street as it is a ‘sign of crime and disorder’
The call from Britain’s longest-serving chief constable, backed by the heads of Greater Manchester Police and Merseyside Police, has been welcomed by public safety experts
But yesterday the Police Federation, which represents rank and file officers, revealed many are worried they could lose their jobs if a complaint is made about the search, which could take the police watchdog years to investigate. Pictured: Cannabis plants
‘The problem is officers are afraid to stop and search, there has been so many high-profile cases and complaints that are officers going to take a risk by stopping someone for the smell of cannabis?
‘There are so many priorities, we do not have the capacity to deal with everything.
‘If you look at stop and search rates they have plummeted as there have been so many complaints and judicial challenges.
‘If you have a group of people and you smell cannabis, do you search everyone?
‘Do you risk then being accused of carrying out an unlawful search?’
He added: ‘You have people who will resist, you may be filmed and it will put on social media… A low-level drug like cannabis, which often ends in a person receiving a caution, officers will be considering the implications if they get it wrong…. Is it worth your job, that’s what officers will be feeling.’
In the past, the Independent Office for Police Conduct has said it is ‘not good practice’ for an officer to stop and search someone on the basis of the smell of cannabis alone.
Yesterday Rory Geoghegan, of the Public Safety Foundation and a former Met officer and ex-adviser to the Home Office, backed the call by police chiefs.
He said: ‘Too many politicians, police chiefs and members of the public have been duped into believing cannabis causes little or no harm.
‘It is refreshing to see police chiefs coming forward to make clear the importance of tackling the illegal use and supply of this drug.
‘Be under no illusion cannabis ruins lives and brings crime and disorder to neighbourhoods.’
