War On Crime Essay, Research Paper
Since the early 1960s, there has been an alarming increase in drug use in the United States. In 1962, four million Americans had tried an illegal drug. By 1999, that number had risen to a staggering 87.7 million, according to the 1999 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse. The study also found that the number of illicit drug users who were above the age of 12 and had used drugs in the past month reached a high of 25.4 million in 1979, decreased through the late 1980s to a low of 12 million in 1992, and has since increased to 14.8 million in 1999.
Drug use among teens, and even younger children, has been steadily increasing for the past several years. According to the 1998 National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse survey, teen marijuana use is up almost 300 percent since 1992. In 1999, 55 percent of high school seniors reported having used an illicit drug, while just seven years ago, only 41 percent said they had, according to the Monitoring the Future Study. Between 1991 and 1999, the same study reported illicit drug use among younger children (age 13 to 14) increased by 51 percent, from 18.7 percent to 28.3 percent.
While most Americans are aware that drug use in the United States is becoming more prevalent among our youth, many do not realize the profound impact the drug epidemic has on the country as a whole. Widespread drug use results in a less efficient, less productive workforce. According to a Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration survey, employees who test positive for drugs make more than twice as many claims for worker s compensation, use almost twice the medical benefits, and take one-third more leave time as non-users. They are also 60 percent more likely to be responsible for accidents. The Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) estimates that the monetary cost of illegal drug use to society is $110 billion a year.
In addition, drug-related violence and crime pose a grave, and much more direct threat to the United States. According to the 1999 Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring Program, 75 percent of the male adults arrested in New York City for committing a violent crime tested positive for drug use. This report also showed that in smaller cities like Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, the percentages were as high as 64 percent.
The drug epidemic is also taking a toll on the very core of American society – the family. According to the ONDCP’s 1998 National Drug Control Strategy, drug use causes violence and abuse within families:
1) One-quarter to one-half of all incidents of domestic violence are
drug-related, 2) A survey of state child welfare agencies found
substance abuse to be one of the key problems exhibited by 81
percent of the families reported for child maltreatment, and 3) 3.2
percent of pregnant women – nearly 80,000 mothers – used drugs
regularly.
These statistics, reflect only the social and familial effects of drug abuse, and therefore, show only a small portion of the suffering endured by American families as a result of drugs abuse (Drug Use In The United States).
Statistics would indicate that some measure of control is needed. But as stated in The Rich Get Richer and the Poor Get Prison, [T]he United States has an enormous drug abuse and addiction problem; however, the attempts to cure it are worse than the disease itself. In this paper, I will attempt to answer the following questions: 1) How illicit and/or legal drug use relates to crime? Here I will also address the statistics quantifying the occurrence of drug use in the U.S. In this section I will note the general characteristics of those we identify as offenders and victims. 2) What are the causes of drug use? 3) Finally, how can we control this behavior in order to reduce the harm? Here I will analyze crime control strategies vs. harm reduction strategies and determine which strategies will be the most effective in reducing the harm.
HOW ILLICIT AND/OR LEGAL DRUG USE RELATES TO CRIME?
Drug use relates to crime in that as legal prohibition on drugs like heroin drives its street value up, only those people willing to risk punishment will sell it. High costs make the purchase of heroin, marijuana, cocaine, and opiates difficult for some and can be attributed to some of the criminal acts. These are the criminal acts that are committed in the name of drugs and usually committed only in an attempt to obtain money for the drug. The FBI reports that the half-million addicts need to steal $18,750,000,000 a year to support their habits. It is reported the value of stolen property would increase dramatically if we knew the value of unreported thefts. The National Drug Control Policy indicates that in 1995, Americans spent $55 billion on three illegal drugs; $38 billion on cocaine alone, $10 billion on heroin, another $7 billion on marijuana. Another $3 billion was estimated to for the purchase of other illegal drugs and legal drugs used illicitly (The Rich, p 39). In 1997 one out of every six prisoners (19% of state inmates and 15% of federal inmates) admit they committed their current offense in order to get money for drugs (The Rich, p 39). Duke and Gross offered the following statements:
If a drug habit can be fed only at great expense, and if the
demand for drugs is relatively inelastic, then crime to obtain
money to buy drugs are inevitable Drug prohibition has also
resulted in the creation of several other hitherto unimagined
crimes, such as money laundering, failure to make currency
reports possession and distribution of precursor chemicals.
Violation of these criminal provisions number in the millions.
[T]he second crime wave: Crimes to get Drug Money is
another symptom of drug abuse [T]he threat of a drug
prosecution can be used by police to obtain other benefits
including sexual favors, money and other property.
(Americas Longest War, p 106-108).
A 1991 survey of federal and state prisons, found that drug offenders, burglars, and robbers in state prisons were the most likely to report being under the influence of drugs while committing crimes. Of convicted property and drug offenders, about 1 in 4 had committed their crimes to get money for drugs. A higher percentage of drug offenders in 1996 (24%) than in 1989 (14%) were in jail for a crime committed to raise money for drugs.
Percent of jail inmates who committed offense to get money for drugs
Offense 1996 1989
Total 15.8 % 13.3 %
Violent 8.8 11.5
Property 25.6 24.4
Drugs 23.5 14.0
Public-order 4.2 3.3
Source: BJS, Profile of Jail Inmates, 1996, NCJ 164620, April 1998.
Although homicide, assault and public order offenses are crimes that are committed under the influence of drugs, inmates in state prisons who had been convicted of homicide, assault, and public order offenses were least likely to report being under the influence of drugs. The chart below illustrates the rate of murder in a year period as it relates to drug use.
The chart shows in the year of 1989 there were 1400 drug-related murders. It would seem in correlating crime with drug use, most prevalent is property related crimes.
Research has shown that crime is related to drug use. Also that the crime that is related to drug use has an extremely wide span. This crime span includes the addicts, law enforcement, judicial system, social destruction, etc. Although Jeffrey Reiman author of The Rich Get Richer and the Poor Get Prison would argue that opiate addiction is not in itself a cause of crime if anything, it is a pacifier. It would seem also Duke and Gross would argue that drug-use is not the cause of crime, but crime is a result of the prohibition of drugs.
This problem of drug-abusers and crime manifests itself in the deterioration of entire neighborhoods. This is characterized by the closing of neighborhood businesses, decreased community involvement in crime watch, crime prevention and crime reporting organizations, and a subsequent increase in crime rates. Duke and Gross substantiate the above theory with the eighth crime wave, which states:
The vigilante reflex is a result of deteriorating law enforcement.
Individuals believe it is their duty to preserve their neighborhood
therefore, the neighborhood drug house is torched and a criminal
act of arson is committed. Neighborhoods where illegal drug
markets flourish are plagued by attendant crime and violence Drug
abuse takes a toll on society that can only be partially measured.
While we are able to estimate the number of drug-related crimes
that occur each year, we can never determine fully the extent to
which the quality of life in America s neighborhoods has been
diminished by drug-related criminal behavior. (America s Drug
Abuse Profile, 2000).
Duke and Gross added to the above idea with the ninth crime wave: Social Deterioration. As crime rates increase in a neighborhood, fear takes over and decline and disorder begins (Americans, p 120). They maintain that those who have the means to escape drug riddled neighborhood do and those who do not become hostages to their environments. When playgrounds become the turf of ruffians and businesses close, the reporting of criminal activity diminishes. This decrease in reporting does not reflect a low crime rate, but is reflective of the community members feeling the situation is hopeless. They began making the calls prior to the community businesses moving, once they had relocated, there was no point in saving the neighborhood. Sadly, the crime rates in these areas soar (Americans, p 120).
WHAT ARE THE CAUSES OF DRUG USE?
Individuals use drugs for various reasons eight of which are listed below: 1) Poor self image, low self esteem, and lack confidence, 2) They have not been cared for or come from families who neglected them, 3) They have a poor relationship with their parents, 4) Some are not well-educated or have obtained the basic educational skills such as reading and writing. Some of these individuals face various hardships throughout their lives, 5) Others have suffered some sort of trauma in their lives. This trauma could be physical, emotional, verbal, and/or sexual abuse. These individuals may feel a sense of never having developed proper family relationships, involving separation, foster care or adoption, 6) Some users were unable to relate to authority figures and attempt to rebel, 7) Many modeled their addictions on the habits of their parents, and 8) Users may have a pre-disposition for substance abuse or other addictive/dependent behaviors. The overall truth is that drug users come from a variety of social backgrounds, and from all ages (An Analysis. 2000).
Research shows that blacks make up about 13% of regular drug users in the U.S., yet account for 62.7% of all drug offenders sent to prison. While there are five times as many white drug users than black drug users, black men are admitted to state prisons for drug offenses at a rate that is 13.4 times greater than that of white men. This drives an overall black incarceration rate that is 8.2 times higher than the white incarceration rate. In seven states, blacks constitute 80 to 90% of all drug offenders sent to prison. In 15 states, black men are admitted to state prison for drug charges at a rate that is 20 to 57 times the white male rate. The numbers above describe a nearly unilateral increase in the use of prison as an attempt to deal with the drug issue in the United States. They tell only part of the story. The following data clearly shows the brunt of the war on drugs being shouldered by the African American community. While many more whites use drugs than blacks in America, prison space for drug offenses is increasingly reserved for African Americans (Drug Abuse, 2000).
The overall rate of admission to prison for drug offenses was 63 per 100,000 in 1996. When dichotomized by race, however, the rates reveal vast disparities. Whites were sent to prison for drug offenses at a much lower rate (20 per 100,000) than were African Americans (279 per 100,000), in 1996. That means blacks are incarcerated for a drug offense at a rate 14 times that of whites, while survey data reveals that five times as many whites use drugs as blacks. (Drug Abuse, 2000).
Both whites and blacks were admitted to prison at higher rates in 1996 than 1986. However, for blacks the increase was much more dramatic. Whites experienced a 115% increase in the rate of drug admissions, from 9 to 20 per 100,000. Meanwhile the black rate of 49 per 100,000 in 1986 skyrocketed by 465% to 279 per 100,000 in 1996 (Graph 6). Put another way, while the white drug commitment rate doubled from 1986 to 1996, the black rate quintupled (see Graph 7). Despite the doubling of the white drug commitment rate between 1986 and 1996, the black rate of commitment to prison for drug offenses in 1986 was still 2 1/2 times the 1996 white rate.
In 1986 the gap between the percent of new admissions for blacks and whites that were the result of drug convictions was small and in some states the percentage for whites exceeded that of blacks. During the “Punishing 90’s,” however, the percent of blacks entering prison for drug offenses outstripped that of whites, in some states more than two to one (Poor Prescription). As the drug use relates to age, employed and unemployed, current statistics show illicit drug use was relatively more common among younger workers than among older workers. About 12 percent of 18 to 25-year-old workers, almost 9 percent of 26 to 34-year-old workers, and more than 5 percent of 35 to 49-year-old workers reported current illicit drug use. However, the largest number of full-time workers who reported current illicit drug use was estimated to be in the older age categories: over two million full-time workers in each of the two older age groups, but only about one-and-a-half million workers in the younger age group, were estimated to be current illicit drug users. These results reflect the fact that only about 16.3 percent of full-time workers, age 18-49, in the U.S. are age 18-25, while 31.8 percent are age 26-34 and 51.9 percent are age 35-49. As drug use relates to gender, employed an unemployed, statistics show male workers were more likely than female workers to report current illicit drug use. About nine percent of males, yet only five percent of females, reported current illicit drug use. This translates to an estimated four million males, but only about one-and-a-half million females, were current illicit drug users. (Poor Prescription, 2000).
White workers had higher rates of current illicit drug use than black or Hispanic workers (8%, 7%, and 6%, respectively). In addition, the estimated number of users was overwhelmingly white: about 83 percent of the estimated number of current illicit drug users were white, almost 9 percent were black, and another 7 percent were Hispanic. These numbers reflect the racial/ethnic distribution of the full-time workforce in the United States: 78.5 percent were white, 11.5 percent was black, and 10.0% was Hispanic (these percentages do not include any other ethnic groups). (Poor Prescription, 2000)
Finally, full-time workers who reported the lowest personal income (less than $9,000 per year) and those who reported the highest personal income ($75,000 or more) also reported the highest rates of current illicit drug use. Although these two groups comprise only 12 percent of the full-time workforce age 18-49, they include 21 percent of those, age 18-49, reporting current illicit drug use. Over 12 percent of the members of these two groups reported current illicit drug use, but less than 10 percent of the members of the other income groups reported current illicit drug use. However, data on the distribution of the estimated number of users by income show a different pattern. The largest estimated numbers of users were from those groups of workers who reported personal annual incomes of $9,000 to $19,999 and $20,000 to $39,999. Over 65 percent of the estimated number of current illicit drug users came from these two groups. However, 68.4 percent of the total number of full-time workers age 18-49 also came from these two income groups. (Poor Prescription, 2000)
Figure 2.2 provides comparable information on heavy alcohol use. As with current illicit drug use, a higher rate of heavy alcohol use was found among 18 to 25-year-old workers (13.6%) than among 26 to 34-year-old or 35 to 49-year-old workers (8.9% and 6.3%, respectively). A majority of the estimated users were found among the older workers. Once again, this is due in part, to the fact that a large majority of full-time workers between the ages of 18 to 49 were age 26 to 49 years old. (Poor Prescription, 2000).
Males were more likely than females, and whites were more likely than blacks, to report heavy alcohol use. The estimated number of users also shows that a large majority of heavy alcohol users were white male workers. . (An Analysis, 2000)
The distribution of heavy alcohol use by personal income was slightly different than the distribution of current illicit drug use by personal income. Heavy alcohol use was more likely to be reported by workers in the two lower income brackets (less than $9,000 and $9,000-$19,999) than by workers in the higher income brackets ($20,000-$39,999, $40,000-$74,999, and $75,000 or more). However, most of the estimated number of heavy alcohol users and a majority of full-time workers overall (68.4%) came from those groups reporting personal incomes between $9,000-$39,999 per annum. (An Analysis, 2000)