III. Goals, Objectives, Targets, andPerformance Measures of Effectiveness
Goals, Objectives, and Targets
| Goal 2: | Increase the safety of America's citizens by substantially reducing drug-related crime and violence. |
The negative social consequences of drug-related crime and violence mirror the tragedy that substance abuse wreaks on individuals. A large percentage of the twelve million property crimes committed each year are drug-related as is a significant proportion of nearly two million violent crimes. The nation's 4.1 million chronic drug users contribute disproportionally to this problem.
Drug-related crime can be reduced through community-oriented policing and other law- enforcement tactics, which have been demonstrated by police departments in New York and other cities where crime rates are plunging. Cooperation among federal, state, and local law-enforcement agencies also makes a difference. So, too, do operations targeting gangs, trafficking organizations, and violent drug dealers. Equitable enforcement of fair laws is critical. We are a nation wedded to the prospect of equal justice for all. Punishment must be perceived as commensurate with the offense. Finally, the criminal justice system must do more than punish. It should use its coercive powers to break the cycle of drugs and crime. Treatment must be made available to the chemically dependent in our nation's prisons.
Objective 1: Strengthen law enforcement -- including federal, state, and local drug task forces -- to combat drug-related violence, disrupt criminal organizations, and arrest and prosecute the leaders of illegal drug syndicates.
Rationale: Dismantling sophisticated drug-trafficking organizations calls for a task-force approach. Criminal syndicates exploit jurisdictional divisions and act across agency lines. Promoting inter-agency cooperation and cross-jurisdictional operations will make law enforcement more efficient.
Objective 2: Improve the ability of High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) to counter drug trafficking.
Rationale: Special assistance is needed when drug trafficking is so widespread that it poses extreme challenges to law enforcement. Coordinating federal, state, and local responses with federal resources through HIDTA, Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF), and other federal, state, and local task forces can reduce drug-related crime.
Objective 3: Help law enforcement to disrupt money laundering and seize and forfeit criminal assets.
Rationale: Targeting drug-dealer assets and the organizations that launder money can take the profitability out of drug trafficking and drive to prohibitive levels the cost of laundering money. Law enforcement is most effective when a multi-disciplinary approach is combined with anti-money laundering regulations and support from financial institutions.
Objective 4: Break the cycle of drug abuse and crime.
Rationale: Our nation has an obligation to assist all who come in contact with the criminal-justice system to become drug-free. Recidivism rates among inmates who are given treatment decline substantially. The reduction of drug abuse by persons within the criminal-justice system will also drive down crime.
Objective 5: Support and highlight research, including the development of scientific information and data, to inform law enforcement, prosecution, incarceration, and treatment of offenders involved with illegal drugs.
Rationale: Law-enforcement programs and policies must be informed by updated research. When success is attained in one community, it should be analyzed quickly and thoroughly so that appropriate lessons can be applied elsewhere.
