CRIMINOLOGY TODAY
Chapters 13 & 15
Chapter 13: Public Order and Drug
Crimes
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History of Drug Abuse in the U.S.
The rampant and widespread use and abuse of mind – and
mood-altering drugs, so commonplace in the U.S. today, is of
relatively recent origin.
Throughout the 1800s and early 1900s, the use of illegal
drugs in America was mostly associated with artistic
individuals and fringe groups.
Psychoactive substance – a substance that affects the mind,
mental processes, or emotions. These substances gained
widespread use during the hippie movement, a period of
newfound freedoms embraced by a large number of
American youths during the late 1960s and early 1970s.
With the advent of the hippie era, marijuana, LSD, hashhish,
psilocybin, and peyote burst upon the national scene as an
ever-growing number of individuals began to view drugs as
recreational substances and as more and more young people
identified with the tenor of the period.
Extent of Abuse
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National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) – a
national survey of illicit drug use among people 12 years
of age and older that is conducted annually by the
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration.
2006 – 20.4 million Americans – current users of illicit
drugs –
Marijuana – most common – 73% reporting use
Cocaine – 2.4 million users
Highest rate of users are age 18 to 25
Education – more education less likely drug use
Employment – 18.5% of unemployed, 8.8% of employed
were drug users
Illegal Drugs
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In 2000 Americans spent $64.8 billion to
purchase illegal drugs
Dangerous drugs – a term used by the DEA to
refer to “broad categories or classes of
controlled substances other than cocaine,
opiates, and cannabis products.”
Amphetamines, methamphetamines, PCP
(phencyclidine), LSD, methcathinone, and
“designer drugs” are all considered to be
dangerous drugs.
Stimulants
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Stimulants include cocaine and crack cocaine,
amphetamines like Dexedrine and Benzedrine,
and methamphetamine.
Cocaine, the use of which has spread rapidly
through American population centers, is
available in powdered form or as small “rocks” of
crack. Crack cocaine, which is much less
expensive than powdered cocaine, is made by
mixing cocaine powder with water and baking
soda or ammonia. It is usually smoked in a
“crack pipe” and is named for the fact that it
makes crackling sound when burned.
Stimulants, con’t.
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Cocaine sells in Columbia for $1,350 to $3,900
per pound and in the United States for $6,600 to
$11,350 per pound (80% pure) at the wholesale
level.
Methamphetamine – street names for the drug
include “speed”, “meth” and “crank”.
Meth is used in pill form or in powdered form for
snorting or injecting. Crystallized meth known as
“ice”, “crystal” or “glass” is a smokable and still
more powerful form of the drug.
Cannabis
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Marijuana, hashish, cannabis plants, sinsemilla,
and hashish oil.
Marijuana is a relatively mild, nonaddictive drug
with limited hallucinogenic properties.
Time distortion, increased sex drive, enhanced
appetite, uncontrollable giddiness, and shortterm memory loss tend to accompany its use.
Pot, grass and weed.
Amount spent on illegal marijuana in the U.S. is
$10.4 billion annually.
Drugs
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Inhalants – gateway drugs – substances that initiate
young people into illicit drug use. 22.9 million Americans
have used.
Pharmaceutical diversion – the process by which
legitimately manufactured controlled substances are
diverted for illicit use.
Designer drugs – new substances designed by slightly
altering the chemical makeup of other illegal or tightly
controlled drugs.
Drug Trafficking – manufacturing, distributing,
dispensing, importing, and exporting (or possession with
intent to do the same) a controlled substance or a
counterfeit substance.
Drugs & Crime
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Drug – defined crime – a violation of the laws
prohibiting or regulating the possession, use, or
distribution of illegal drugs.
Drug – related crime – a crime in which drugs
contribute to the offense (excluding violations of
drug laws).
Relationship of drugs to crime:
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Drug users report greater involvement in crime and
are more likely than nonusers to have criminal
records.
People with criminal records are much more likely
than others to report being drug users.
Crimes rise in number as drug use increases.
Social Policy & Drug Abuse
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Prior to 1907, any and all drugs could be bought
and sold in the U.S. without restriction.
The era of patent medicines came to an end
with enactment of the federal Pure Food and
Drug Act of 1906. Although the law required
disclosure of the chemical composition of
marketed substances, it did not outlaw them.
The Harrison Act, passed by Congress in 1914,
was the first major piece of federal anti-drug
legislation.
Social Policy, cont’
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In 1919, 18th Amend to U.S. Constitution –
Volsted Act – Prohibition of intoxicating liquors
In 1933 Congress passed and states ratified the
21st Amend – repealed Prohibition.
1937 – passage of Marijuana Tax Act effectively
outlawed marijuana.
1956 Narcotic Control Act – increased penalties
for drug traffickers and made the sale of heroin
to anyone under age 18 a capital offense.
The most comprehensive federal legislation to
address controlled substances to date is the
1970 Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and
Control Act.
Drug Courts
Theory vs. Reality p. 553
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Drug courts which are generally used for
nonviolent drug offenders, seek to identify
eligible participants early in case processing.
They offer an alternative to incarceration, which
has not been effective in breaking the cycle of
drugs and crime.
Drug court programs, which may divert
offenders from further handling by other official
agencies, feature supervised treatment and
periodic drug testing. Their purpose is to use
the authority of the court to reduce crime by
changing defendants’ drug-using behavior.
Defendants are typically diverted to drug court
programs in exchange for the possibility of
dismissed charges or reduced sentences.
Drug-Control Strategies
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Anti-drug legislation and strict
enforcement
Interdiction
Crop control
Forfeiture
Anti-drug education and drug treatment
Drug-Control Strategies
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Interdiction – an international drug control policy that
aims to stop drugs from entering the country illegally.
Forfeiture or asset forfeiture is another strategy – legal
procedure that authorizes judicial representatives to
seize all moneys, negotiable instruments, securities, or
other things of value furnished or intended to be
furnished by any person in exchange for controlled
substance –
Sometimes abused by law enforcement
US Supreme Ct. – requires notice to owners of pending
seizures – opportunity to respond
Also, Ct. said seizures of property value can not exceed
certain amount related to fine.
DARE
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D.A.R.E. – Drug Abuse Resistance Education –
uses uniformed police officers and other experts
to explain issues of drug abuse to school-aged
children and attempts to build resistance to what
might otherwise be perceived by youths as
attractive drug-related activities. DARE focuses
on developing competent decision making skills,
combating negative forms of peer pressure, and
providing meaningful alternatives to drug use.
A number of recent studies have questioned the
effectiveness of DARE type interventions, finding
after repeated evaluations – that their effects on
drug use, except for tobacco use, are
nonsignificant.
States List Meth Offenders on Web
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Page 557 – What do you think?
Policy Consequences
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Federal government drug control budget – in 2008 $12.961 billion
Figure 13-7 at top of page 560
Our courts, like all of government and commerce, are
institutions of limited resources. To the extent that court
resources must be diverted to deal with the enormous
influx of drug prosecutions, these resources are not
available to resolve civil matters… In some jurisdictions,
drug cases account for as much as 2/3 of the criminal
case filings.
Strict enforcement has combined with a lock-’em up
philosophy to produce astonishingly high rates of
imprisonment for drug offenders. The proportion of
federal prisoners who are sentenced drug offenders rose
from 38% in 1986 to 53% in 1990 and according to the
Bureau of Prisons, is 55% today.
Alternative Drug Policies
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Decriminalization – the redefinition of
certain previously criminal behaviors into
regulated activities that become
“ticketable” rather than “arrestable.”
Legalization – elimination of the laws and
criminal penalties associated with certain
behaviors – usually the production, sale,
distribution, and possession of a controlled
substance.
Prostitution
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The offering of one’s self for hire for the purpose
of engaging in sexual relations, or the act or
practice of engaging in sexual activity for money
or its equivalent.
Except for Nevada, prostitution is a criminal act
throughout the U.S. – generally classified as a
misdemeanor.
In U.S. over 92,000 men, women and juveniles
are arrested yearly for prostitution.
Legalized prostitution common in other
countries, Australia, New Zealand, and the
Netherlands and Germany. Subject to public
health controls and well as age and other
restrictions.
Question this chapter asks.
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The fundamental question underlying
morals offenses like prostitution and drug
use is whether and to what extent the
criminal law should reflect and enforce the
morality of the society it represents.
Chapter 15: Globalization and
Terrorism
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Globalization is defined as a process of social
homogenization by which the experiences of
everyday life, marked by the diffusion of
commodities and ideas, can foster a
standardization of cultural expressions around
the world.
Transnational organized crime refers to unlawful
activity undertaken and supported by organized
criminal groups operating across national
boundaries.
Human Smuggling and Trafficking
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Human Smuggling – the facilitation,
transportation, attempted transportation or
illegal entry of a person(s) across an
international border, in violation of one or more
country’s laws, either clandestinely or through
deception, such as the use of fraudulent
documents – it refers illegal immigration in
which an agent is involved for payment to help a
person cross a border clandestinely.
The State Department notes that the vast
majority of people who are assisted in illegally
entering the U.S. annually are smuggled, rather
than trafficked.
Trafficking in Persons (TIP)
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Can be compared to modern day slavery
Trafficking involves the exploitation of unwilling or
unwitting people through force, coercion, threat,
or deception, and includes human rights abuses
such as debt bondage, deprivation of liberty, or
lack of control over freedom and labor.
Trafficking is often undertaken for purposes of
sexual exploitation or labor exploitation.
Each year 17,500 to 18,500 are trafficked into the
U.S.
Extreme poverty, lack of economic opportunity,
civil unrest, and political uncertainty are all factors
that contribute to social environments in which
smuggling and trafficking in persons occurs.
Federal Immigration and Trafficking Legislation
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Open national borders until 1880s
Chinese Exclusion Act, became law in 1882 and was enforced
10 years later. This act sought to end a huge influx of mostly
male workers coming from China.
1924 Immigration Act – 1st comprehensive act – limited the
number of immigrants who cold be admitted from any one
country to 2% of the number of people from that country
who were already living here.
1952 the INA established the Immigration and Naturalization
Service (INS).
2000 Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) addressed the
significant problem of trafficking of persons for the purpose
of committing commercial sex acts, or for the purpose of
subjecting them to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt
bondage, or slavery.
Sex trafficking – the recruitment, harboring, transportation,
provision, or obtaining of a person for the purpose of a
commercial sex act.
Comparative Criminology
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The cross-national study of crime. By
comparing crime patterns in one country
with those in another, theories and policies
that have been taken for granted in one
place can be reevaluated in the light of
world experience.
Comparative criminologist – a
criminologist involved in the cross-national
study of crime.
Ethnocentrism
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The phenomenon of “culture-centeredness” by
which one uses one’s own culture as a
benchmark against which to judge all other
patterns of behavior.
People tend to think that their religion holds a
spiritual edge over other religions, that their
values and ethical sense are superior to those of
others, and that the fashions they wear, the
language they speak, and the rituals of daily life
in which they participate are somehow better
than comparable practices elsewhere.
Issues in Reporting
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Definitional differences create what may be the biggest problem.
For cross-national comparisons of crime data to be meaningful, it is
essential that the reported data share conceptual similarities.
Unfortunately, that is often not the case.
Economic differences among countries compound these difficulties.
Auto theft statistics, for example, when compared between
countries like the U.S. and China, need to be placed in an economic
as well as demographic context. While the U.S. has two
automobiles for every 3 people, China has only one car for every
100 of its citizens. For the Chinese auto theft rate to equal that of
the U.S., every automobile in the country would have to be stolen
nearly twice each year!
U.S. violent crime rates seem high when compared with violent
crime rates of other developed countries. American crime rates,
however, are far from being the highest in the world. (Figure 15-1
on page 627)
Murder rates in Colombia and South Africa, for example, are more
than 12 times that of the U.S. Russia has a murder rate that is
almost four times the U.S. rate, and homicide rates in Mexico are
more than three times as great as those in the U.S.
Terrorism
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Premeditated, politically motivated violence perpetrated
against noncombatant targets by subnational groups or
clandestine agents, usually intended to influence an
audience.
Terrorist acts are inherently criminal because they violate
the criminal law; because they involve criminal activity,
such as hijacking, kidnapping, and arson; and because
they produce criminal results, such as homicide and
property destruction.
The primary distinction between violent criminal acts and
acts of terrorism, however, has to do with the political
motivation or social ideology of the offender.
Terroroism
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6 types of terrorism
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Nationalist terrorism
Religious terrorism
State-sponsored terrorism
Left-wing terrorism
Right-wing terrorism
Anarchist terrorism
Terrorism
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Domestic terrorism – the unlawful use of force
or violence by a group or an individual who is
based and operates entirely within the U.S. and
its territories without foreign direction and
whose acts are directed at elements of the U.S.
government or population.
International terrorism – the unlawful use of
force or violence by a group or an individual who
has a connection to a foreign power or whose
activities transcend national boundaries against
people or property to intimidate or coerce a
government, the civilian population, or any
segment thereof in furtherance of political or
social objectives.
Terrorism
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Approximately 39,000 individuals
worldwide were either killed or injured by
terrorist attacks in 2006. Well over 50%
of those victimized by terrorism were
Muslims. Most were victims of attacks in
Iraq, and approximately 70% of those
killed or injured were civilians.
The making of a suicide bomber – page
632 – you be the judge
Cyberterrorism
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A form of terrorism that makes use of high technology,
especially computer technology and the Internet, in the
planning and carrying out of terrorist attacks.
Infrastructure – the basic facilities, services, and
installations needed for the functioning of a community
or society, such as transportation and communications
systems, water and power lines, and public institutions,
including schools, post offices, and prisons.
Our economy and national security are fully dependent
upon information technology and the information
infrastructure.
U.S. government is building a whole new Internet of it
own dubbed “GovNet” the service is planned to be a
private voice and data network based on the Internet
Protocol (IP), but with no connectivity with commercial
or public networks.
The War of Terrorism
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USA PATRIOT Act p. 638
The Department of Homeland Security
9/11 Commission report p. 642
Foreign terrorist organization (FTO) a foreign
organization that engages in terrorist activity that
threatens the security of U.S. nationals or the national
security of the U.S. and that is so designated by the U.S.
secretary of state.
Consequences of designation at FTO – p. 644
State sponsors of terrorism – Cuba, Iran, Libya, North
Korea, Sudan and Syria. Iran is most active sponsor of
terrorism today.
Future – individual terrorism – bottom of page 646 – will
require another policy change to deal with.
Next Week
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Turn in Term Paper.
Final test covering chapters 7, 8, 9, 10,
11, 12, 13 and 15.
Leave your e-mail address with instructor
to have your test grade and final grade emailed to you.