Pubdate: Mon, 20 Aug 2001
Source: Tampa Tribune (FL)
Copyright: 2001, The Tribune Co.
Contact:  http://www.tampatrib.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/446
Author:  Karen Gullo of the Associated Press

=46EDERAL DRUG CHARGES DOUBLE

WASHINGTON - More than 30,000 people were charged with federal drug 
offenses in 1999, more than double the number 15 years earlier.

And most of those convicted were drug traffickers, a Justice 
Department study says.

Attorney General John Ashcroft said the report shows that federal 
drug laws are, succeeding in catching the serious criminals and 
keeping them behind bars longer.

One crime expert disputed that, saying only a fraction of traffickers 
are being arrested.

The study, released Sunday by the department's Bureau of Justice 
Statistics, found that only 4 percent of drug criminals were 
convicted of simple possession, while 91 percent were convicted of 
trafficking.

It also found that drug offenders are serving longer sentences. The 
average prison stay rose to 5 1/2 years in 1999 from 2 1/2 years in 
1986.

The longer prison times are the result of federal laws passed over 
the past two decades that require mandatory minimum sentences for 
drug crimes, researchers said.

"Tougher federal drug laws are making a real difference in clearing 
major drug offenders from our nation's streets," Ashcroft said. 
"Federal drug offenders are predominantly hard-core criminals with 
prior arrest records who are convicted for drug trafficking."

The report showed that 30,099 defendants were charged with a federal 
drug offense in 1999, the most recent year for which data were 
available. In 1984, 11,854 were charged with drug crimes.

James Alan Fox, a criminologist at Northeastern University in Boston, 
said although the jump reflects the government's increased drug- 
fighting efforts, prosecutors are only getting the tip of the iceberg.

"We are devoting a tremendous amount of money and resources to this 
relentless war on drugs, which is not winnable," he said.

Almost half of those charged with drug offenses in the period studied 
were Hispanic, 28 percent were black and 25 percent were non-Hispanic 
white.

John Scalia, the report's author, said the Hispanic count was high 
because many cases involved drug smuggling across the U.S.-Mexico 
border.

"A lot of cases prosecuted by U.S. attorneys involve importation, 
especially of marijuana, " Scalia said.

About a quarter of defendants were not U.S. citizens.

Other findings in the report:

=85 About half of defendants had a previous conviction and a third were 
under Justice Department supervision when they were arrested.

=85 Drug prosecutions made up 32 percent of the federal criminal 
caseload in 1999, compared with 18 percent in 1984.

=85 More than 25,000 defendants were convicted. Almost half had no 
prior convictions. Nearly a third were involved with marijuana, 42 
percent with powder or crack cocaine, and 13 percent with 
methamphetamines.

=85 Most were subject to mandatory minimum prison sentences. But about 
21 percent of convicted drug criminals received a reduced sentence 
under a 1994 law exempting many first-time, nonviolent drug offenders 
from mandatory sentences.

=85 The average sentence rose to 74 months from 62 months in 1986. 
Actual time served jumped to 66 months from 30 months.

=85 As of September 1999, 68,369 drug offenders were in federal 
prisons, and 34,452 were under post-incarceration supervision.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Josh