Skip to main content skip navigation
  • Account
    • Login
    • Manage
  • Subscribe
    • JUSTINFO
    • Register
  • Shopping Cart
  • Contact Us
    • Email
    • Feedback
    • Chat
    • Phone or Mail
  • Site Help
National Criminal Justice Reference Service
Office of Justice Programs header with links to bureaus/offices: BJA, BJS, NIJ, OJJDP, OVC, SMART Office of Justice Programs BJA BJS NIJ OJJDP OVC SMART Office of Justice Programs
Advanced Search  Search Help
    Browse By Topics  down arrow
  • A–Z Topics
  • Corrections
  • Courts
  • Crime
  • Crime Prevention
  • Drugs
  • Justice System
  • Juvenile Justice
  • Law Enforcement
  • Victims
CrimeSolutions
Add your conference to our Justice Events calendar
  • ABOUT NCJRS
  • OJP PUBLICATIONS
  • LIBRARY
  • SEARCH Q & A
  • GRANTS & FUNDING
  • JUSTICE EVENTS
Home / Publications / NCJRS Abstract

PUBLICATIONS

Register for Latest Research

Stay Informed
Register with NCJRS to receive NCJRS's biweekly e-newsletter JUSTINFO and additional periodic emails from NCJRS and the NCJRS federal sponsors that highlight the latest research published or sponsored by the Office of Justice Programs.

NCJRS Abstract

The document referenced below is part of the NCJRS Virtual Library collection. To conduct further searches of the collection, visit the Virtual Library. See the Obtain Documents page for direction on how to access resources online, via mail, through interlibrary loans, or in a local library.

1 record(s) found

 

NCJ Number: 164216 Find in a Library
Title: Success of Tough Drug Enforcement
Author(s): R E Peterson
Date Published: 1996
Annotation: This report presents data to show that investments in drug law enforcement and tough sentencing have been effective in reducing illicit drug use and related crime; recommendations are offered to improve the effectiveness of drug policies.
Abstract: Despite efforts by a campaign to discredit law enforcement as an effective strategy for addressing drug abuse by those who would legalize drugs, tougher drug enforcement has yielded significant societal benefits. From 1986 through 1992, a 13- percent increase in law enforcement personnel yielded approximately a 39-percent increase in violent crime arrests and a 110-percent increase in heroin/cocaine trafficking arrests. The Federal Drug Enforcement Administration posted a $22 million surplus for taxpayers in 1990 with assets seized from drug lords. Crime and violence has decreased with an increase in drug incarceration rates. Rational enforcement efforts have targeted the most serious and dangerous drug offenders. Most imprisoned for drug offenses are repeat or violent criminals. Although the odds of imprisonment for drug offenses have increased, the Nation is still too lenient with drug felons. Mandatory minimum sentences have had a positive impact, and problems predicted have not developed. Racial disparities in the justice system are largely explained by differences in crime victimization and complaint rates; police practices show the lowest level of race discrepancy, and for crimes with the most police discretion, arrests are predominantly among whites. Weakening drug enforcement will lead to fewer individuals seeking and receiving drug treatment. Frequent monitored drug testing with swift and certain sanctions that are progressively tougher with each violation can lead to low recidivism for offenders under community supervision. This does not mean that formal treatment is not of benefit to some addicts. The Federal Health and Human Services Department should increase its allocation to drug treatment from 1 percent to 10 percent of its budget. Extensive figures and tables and 369 notes
Main Term(s): Drug Policy
Index Term(s): Deterrence effectiveness; Drug law enforcement; Drug treatment; Mandatory Sentencing; Race-crime relationships; Racial discrimination; Sentence effectiveness
Sponsoring Agency: Performance Accountability Evaluations
Vestal, NY 13851
Corporate Author: Performance Accountability Evaluations
United States of America
Sale Source: Performance Accountability Evaluations
P. O. Box 1184
Vestal, NY 13851
United States of America
Page Count: 84
Type: Legislation/Policy Analysis
Language: English
Country: United States of America
Note: DCC.
To cite this abstract, use the following link:
http://www.ncjrs.gov/App/publications/abstract.aspx?ID=164216

*A link to the full-text document is provided whenever possible. For documents not available online, a link to the publisher's website is provided. Tell us how you use the NCJRS Library and Abstracts Database - send us your feedback.




Find in a Library

You have clicked Find in a Library. A title search of WorldCat, the world's largest library network, will start when you click "Continue." Here you will be able to learn if libraries in your community have the document you need. The results will open in a new browser and your NCJRS session will remain active for 30 minutes. Learn More.

You have selected:

This article appears in

In WorldCat, verify that the library you select has the specific journal volume and issue in which the article appears. Learn How.

Continue to WorldCat

You are about to access WorldCat, NCJRS takes no responsibility for and exercises no control over the WorldCat site.

 
Office of Justice Programs Facebook Page  Twitter Page
  • Bureau of Justice Assistance Facebook Page Twitter Page
  • Bureau of Justice Statistics Twitter Page
  • National Institute of Justice Facebook Page Twitter Page
  • Office for Victims of Crime Facebook Page Twitter Page
  • Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Facebook Page Twitter Page
  • Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering, and Tracking Facebook Page Twitter Page
Contact Us | Feedback | Site Map
Freedom of Information Act | Privacy Statement | Legal Policies and Disclaimers
USA.gov | CrimeSolutions
Department of Justice | Office of Justice Programs