NCJ Number
177136
Date Published
1998
Length
38 pages
Annotation
Drug policies and drug control efforts through police interventions on both the supply and demand sides of drug abuse and drug trafficking are examined, with emphasis on the roles of various Federal agencies and on organizations and strategies at the local level.
Abstract
Many Federal policies and agencies have been implemented from the time of the first narcotics unit operating under the Commissioner of Internal Revenue in 1919 to the current Drug Enforcement Administration, which was formed in 1973. Some policies and agencies have been more successful than others. The Drug Enforcement Administration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the United States Customs Service carry out the main thrust of drug law enforcement. Many other Federal agencies also share enforcement responsibility, Interdiction is a priority of the Federal drug enforcement initiative. Other organizations act as task forces for drug control efforts. The Office of National Drug Control Policy coordinates the Federal drug control effort. The Federal Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force also has a major role in detecting and prosecuting drug traffickers. Local drug enforcement strategies focus on reducing or eliminating local drug markets through community policing and problem-oriented policing designed to unite the police more closely with the general public as well as to empower police to make certain managerial enforcement decisions within their own jurisdictions. Case examples, figures, list of major terms used, and discussion questions