A recent paper published in the prestigious Journal of Political Economy, "Crime and the Depenalization of Cannabis Possession: Evidence from a Policing Experiment," reports on experimental policing in the city of London. In the experiment, police depenalized the possession of small quantities of cannabis in the London borough of Lambeth.
Researchers found that the offense rate for total non-drug crime in Lambeth fell significantly by 9.4% The offense rate declined in all crime categories. The declines in robbery, burglary, theft and handling, fraud and forgery and criminal damage were statistical significant, but the offense rate for violence, sexual offenses and robbery was not. Researchers found that police reallocated their resources which led to more arrests and "clear ups."
