Pubdate: Mon, 20 Aug 2001
Source: Oklahoman, The (OK)
Copyright: 2001 The Oklahoma Publishing Co.
Contact:  http://www.oklahoman.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/318
Author: Karen Gullo, Associated Press Writer

DRUG CRIME INCREASES

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 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 arrested.

The study released Sunday by the department's Bureau of Justice Statistics 
found only 4 percent of drug criminals were convicted of simple possession. 
Ninety-one percent were convicted of trafficking.

It also found drug offenders are serving longer sentences. The average 
prison stay rose to 51/2 years in 1999 from 21/2 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, not first-time, nonviolent 
offenders charged with drug possession."

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, said that while 
the jump reflects 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.

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

(SIDEBAR)

Study Findings

About half of defendants had a previous conviction, and a third were under 
justice supervision when they were arrested.

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

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.

Most were subject to mandatory minimum prison sentences. 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.

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

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