When should schools call the police?

When cannabis is found at school or a suspicion arises, teachers quickly ask whether the police must be called. There is no blanket answer. In an acute health emergency, the emergency call takes priority. If there is a suspicion of passing on or dealing cannabis to minors, the school should seek outside help. Ask the school management or the school supervisory authority which reporting duties the respective school law provides for. What matters are the circumstances of the case, the age of the persons involved and whether other people are at risk. The school should not make this decision alone in the moment. It consults the school management and informs the parents.

What applies legally to young people

For minors, possession, acquisition and cultivation of cannabis remain banned. With the Consumer Cannabis Act, the obligation to prosecute no longer applies to young people. The specialist site cannabispraevention.de also describes a duty to inform: if young people under 18 are caught using cannabis, the parents or legal guardians are informed in every case, and in some cases the local youth welfare service is also called in.

This sets a clear order for the school. First the situation is recorded, then the parents are informed, and then further steps are decided. Whether the police are involved is a separate question to be considered.

When passing on to minors becomes relevant

The position is different when someone passes on or sells cannabis to minors. That is a criminal offence. The basic offence under the Consumer Cannabis Act provides for imprisonment of up to three years or a fine. The law names as a particularly serious case the passing on to a child or young person by a person over 21 years of age. For this, imprisonment of three months to five years is provided.

If there is a suspicion that an adult is giving cannabis to minors, this is a case in which the school should seek outside help. Such a situation should not be handled alone. The school management clarifies the next step, and the police are responsible for prosecution.

Decision criteria for the school

Before the decision, a brief check of the situation helps. The following questions structure the discussion in the team:

• Are there indications that cannabis was passed on to minors?
• Are other pupils or third parties at risk?
• Is there an acute health emergency?
• Is it a one-off incident or a pattern?
• Is the person an adult or a minor?

In an acute emergency, immediate help takes priority over all other steps. After that, it is clarified which bodies should be involved. The answers to these questions should be documented so that the decision can be traced later.

The role of parents and youth welfare

According to the specialist site cannabispraevention.de, parents are informed when young people under 18 are caught using cannabis. This applies regardless of whether the police are called in. In some cases the responsible local youth welfare service may also be called in. Youth welfare offers support for families and young people, and it is often the right partner when a child needs help.

For the school this means that the decision about the police does not replace contact with the parents and with youth welfare. Both run in parallel, and every step should be documented in a traceable way.

How the school prepares

A firm agreement in advance prevents hasty decisions. It makes sense to decide beforehand who informs the school management in an emergency, who contacts the parents and who arranges counselling. The specialist site cannabispraevention.de stresses that clear rules at school are indispensable. Such a rule also covers how to deal with the police.

• Fixed responsibility for the school management and documentation
• Set steps for informing parents
• Contact details of local counselling services and youth welfare
• Clear criteria for involving the police

The school should also check whether its house rules contain a cannabis ban. This strengthens clarity for everyone involved, even though the statutory consumption bans apply regardless.

What parents can do

As a parent, you can ask whether the police have been called in, which steps the school has planned and who is supporting your son or daughter. Ask the school how it will inform you about the incident. If you need an assessment of possible criminal proceedings, contact a lawyer.

For your own support, the parents' helpline of the Nummer gegen Kummer on 0800 111 0 550 and the Sucht & Drogen Hotline on 01806 313031 are available. How the school supports parents in such cases is described in the article How does the school support parents in cannabis cases? What is relevant under criminal law for young people is shown in Who commits an offence by giving cannabis to minors?.

On criminal responsibility and the consequences for young people, From what age is someone criminally responsible for cannabis offences? provides information. How the procedure after an incident can be organised is explained in How does a school proceed after an incident? General information is offered by the prevention and youth protection topic area.