Methods and definitions

Reports of offences against national drug legislation (use, possession, trafficking, etc.) reflect differences in law but also the different ways in which the law is enforced and applied, and the priorities and resources allocated to specific problems by criminal justice agencies. In addition, information systems on drug law offences/offenders vary considerably between countries, especially as regards recording procedures, definitions and statistical units (see below).

The term ‘reports for drug law offences’ covers different concepts, varying between countries. Drug law offences usually refer to offences such as drug production, trafficking and dealing as well as drug use and possession for use. Although in some countries, drug use and/or possession for use are not considered as criminal offences and attract administrative sanctions, reports for these were included in the data presented here.

The stage within the criminal justice system at which data have been reported and recorded, vary sometimes across countries. For example, data on drug law offences might be recorded at an initial stage when a first report is made by law enforcement agencies, or after investigation by the Judicial Police, or even following a decision for a charge to be issued by the Prosecutor.

Statistical units vary between countries. Some Member States record offences while others record persons (or presumed offenders). Among those recording offences, some record all offences reported to them, while others record only the main offences – i.e. in the case of several offences committed by the same person, only the most serious offence (usually the one that attracts the highest penalty) is recorded. Among countries recording persons, some record a number of individuals being reported during the year, while others report only a number of different individuals reported during the year. In the former case, an individual reported twice during the same year will be counted twice while in the latter case he would be only counted once in the statistics. In addition to these, when considering breakdowns by drug, here too, some countries report all drugs mentioned in a case while others record only the main drug (defined according to different criteria in different countries).

These differences – mainly in the stage at which the statistics are made and in the type of statistical units – lead to major difficulties when comparing data from different EU countries.

For more information see the EMCDDA’s European Legal Database on Drugs (ELDD) and the Information map on law enforcement sources

Country	Definition
Belgium	Police reports of offences related to illicit drugs.
Czech Republic	Reports of drug law offences.
Denmark	Charges for violations of drug laws.
Germany	All offences under Narcotic Law.
Estonia	Persons reported for offences against the drug legislation (criminal offences and misdemeanours).
Greece	Arrests (caught by the police); initial reports of individuals suspected of drug law offences.
Spain	Arrests made in case of dealing/trafficking (criminal offences) and reports made in case of possession/use in public places (administrative offences).
France	Reports by law enforcement agencies for violation of drug laws to the prosecutor.
Ireland	Drug offences where criminal proceedings commenced (charges) and where the offence is classifiable by type of drug.
Italy	Reports of drug law offences: persons referred to the Judicial Authority (criminal offences) and persons referred to the Prefect of the Police Force (administrative offences).
Cyprus	Reported cases of drug law offences.
Latvia	Criminal convictions for drug law offences.
Lithuania	Arrests and charges for drug law offences.
Luxembourg	Suspected offenders ('prévenus') against the 1973 drug law.
Hungary	Charges for indictable drug law offences (i.e. cases of drug abuse reported by police and prosecutors at the end of criminal investigations).
Malta	Persons charged with drug law offences.
Netherlands	Offences against the Opium Act considered in need of Prosecution Department.
Austria	Reports to the police for violations of the Narcotic Substances Act.
Poland	Offences against the drug law recorded by the police.
Portugal	Presumed offenders questioned by the police for drug-related offences (criminal offences) and suspected drug users referred to the Commission for the Dissuasion of Drug Use (CDT) (administrative offences).
Slovenia	Presumed offences against drug legislations.
Slovakia	Suspected offenders of drug law offences, reported by KEU PZ.
Finland	Drug offences recorded by the police and the customs (from 2002 only).
Sweden	Persons suspected of offences against the narcotic drugs act or the goods smuggling act.
United Kingdom	Persons found guilty, cautioned, given a fiscal fine or dealt with by compounding for drug law offences.
Norway	Cases investigated and persons charged with drug crimes.
Bulgaria	Police reports of detainees for drug law offences.
Romania	Persons investigated by the police for drug law offences.
Turkey	Offences brought up by the main law enforcement authorities (Police, Gendarmerie, Customs) for drug law offences.

Source:

Reitox national focal points