DRUG MARKETS (police)

 

Both licit and illicit drug use and dealing continue to present serious challenges for law enforcement and for our communities. Criminal justice and law enforcement responses to drug markets, drug abuse, and drug dealing at all levels vary significantly depending on the substance, the defined user base, and the dealing and distribution structure. We examine the drug distribution process, consider various local and national law enforcement responses to drug markets, and explore the impact of law enforcement on drug markets.

Drug Distribution Processes, Dealers, and Users

Drug markets may operate differently depending on the nature of the substance being marketed, the user base, the presence and impact of federal and local law enforcement, and a myriad of other social factors. However, the general distribution process of illicit drugs is somewhat consistent and requires the active participation of many different players across different venues. Farmers (or chemists, in the case of synthetic drugs such as methamphetamine) must initially grow and harvest the base plant or ingredient(s) and fully prepare the substance(s) for the manufacturing process. Manufacturers must then transform the base plant(s) or ingredient(s) into a usable form that can be eventually consumed through drinking, eating, smoking, snorting, injecting, or inhaling the substance (some substances, such as cocaine, can be consumed in many different ways). The manufacturing process typically involves the introduction of additional components, compounds, and chemicals, a cooking, drying, heating, or chemical process, and subsequent packaging of the product for shipment. The manufacturers must then transfer the drugs to various traffickers, who are typically responsible for transferring larger quantities of drugs to wholesale movers, regional distributors, and street-level dealers, who ultimately sell the substances to end users.

In addition to the drug distribution process, illicit drug markets rely on the ongoing participation of a variety of support staff, including accountants and bankers (who manage the money and property), security personnel or enforcers (who ensure that payments are made on time, handle disputes, and manage other responsibilities that require force), lawyers, and others with a financial or political stake.

Illicit drug markets also operate in different ways, again depending on a variety of factors. ”Open markets” are markets where anyone can buy or sell within any of the designated buying/selling locations. Open markets are often located in heavily trafficked areas (street corners, neighborhoods, bars, and so on), where users can easily find dealers and vice versa (Harocopos and Hough 2005). ”Semiopen markets” develop when dealers restrict their sales to known customers or to customers who are referred by other acquaintances or dealers in an effort to reduce risk, minimize botched deals, and avoid transaction conflicts. ”Closed” or ”discreet markets” are those where a finite number of individuals buy, sell, and use the drugs and access to the dealers is strictly controlled (Rengert 2003). City areas with extensive drug market activity have also been referred to as ”hot spots,” and police often focus significant enforcement and prevention efforts on these particular zones in an effort to disrupt routine deals, apprehend dealers and users, and minimize drug-related harm to communities (Ratcliffe 2004; Weisburd and Green 1996; Green 1995).

Final sale and transfer of drugs to the end user and use of the drug can also occur in a variety of settings and is often a function of the substance, the marketing strategy, the targeted audience, and the method of ingestion. Ecstasy and other ”club drugs” are frequently distributed at nightclubs or at ”rave” parties to mostly younger users. Crack cocaine (which is smoked) and heroin (which is either smoked or injected) are typically sold on the streets or in abandoned buildings turned into ”shooting galleries” or ”crack houses.” Methamphetamine is often manufactured and sold out of temporary apartments, rented hotel rooms, or even from moving vans or trucks that are difficult to detect given their mobility. Marijuana may be distributed essentially anywhere, including at schools and colleges, at parties, and during concerts. OxyContin and other prescription-based drugs are often disseminated through illegal prescription services, stolen out of doctors’ offices or clinics, or ordered online (Drug Enforcement Administration 2005). In fact, the evolution of the Internet has had a significant impact on traditional drug markets because drug transactions can simply be set up online, payments transferred wirelessly, and products simply shipped via mail or other courier services.

Drug Market Impact on Local Crime and Violence

There is little doubt that illicit drug markets contribute to, and in some situations cause, various crimes to occur and facilitate increases in overall crime rates. First, casual or excessive users of various substances are at increased risk of being victimized, engaging in dangerous sexual activity, being involved in automobile accidents, committing property crimes, engaging in violence, and participating in other illegal and high-risk behaviors (McBride and McCoy 1993; Thornberry, Huizinga, and Loeber 1995; Kuhns 2005). Further, involvement in drug dealing and participation in illicit drug markets also facilitates increased criminal involvement (beyond those crimes that are associated with drug use and dealing), including prostitution, violent crime, property crime, and financial crime (Elliott, Huizinga, and Menard 1987).

The risk of drug-related crime and violence also rises and falls depending on the nature and stability of the selling market, real and perceived levels of local enforcement, and other ecological and economic factors. Open drug markets are usually more susceptible to drug-related systemic violence, including robberies, homicides, and assaults. Open markets are often less stable, which generates increased uncertainty during transactions due to the lack of established trust between buyers and sellers, ongoing fears of undercover police operations, emergence of new users who are often younger and less self-controlled, and lack of defined territories among competitive dealers who will quickly resort to violence to enforce market rules.

Open markets can also introduce new drugs, which can also bring in new users, inexperienced dealers, and uncertainty regarding drug-induced behaviors. The emergence of crack cocaine in the late 1980s and early 1990s was directly related to increased violence rates during that time frame (Inciardi 1990), and the cross-country spread of methamphetamines from the southwest is also thought to be a significant contributor to increased violence.

Law Enforcement Responses to Drug Markets

A number of law enforcement responses to drug markets have been implemented, with varying degrees of success. Drug, vice, or narcotics squads have been established in many small and large law enforcement agencies. Their measure of success is often based on arrest rates and quantity of drug seizures. Vice squads utilize a variety of strategies and tactics, including undercover work, buy-bust operations (where police agents purchase drugs and subsequently arrest dealers), and buy-bust campaigns (which are more strategic extensions of buy-bust operations that involve identification of numerous drug dealers before numerous arrests begin). Sting and reverse-buy operations involve having police pose as dealers and subsequently arresting purchasers and users. Interagency task forces draw on the collaborative resources of a number of agencies to conduct large-scale investigations and stings (Green 1996). Police crackdowns involve intensive suppression-focused operations designed to quickly maximize arrests and clean up the streets (Scott 2003). Crackdowns are often effectively implemented in drug hot spots (Weisburd and Green 1995), although such efforts are not always successful for extended periods of time (National Institute of Justice 1996).

Problem-oriented policing and community policing, ”weed and seed” operations, and other nontraditional approaches have been attempted in various drug market settings, including dilapidated neighborhoods, open air markets, public housing complexes, and schools. Increased emphasis on the physical environment, including enforcement of code violations for crack house and shooting gallery landlords and crime prevention through environmental design, are other nontraditional tactics that have been successful in some settings.

Issuing citations, in lieu of making arrests, for possession of minor amounts of marijuana is gaining popularity in some areas of the country, although processing offenders through the court system is still both time consuming and costly.

The Impact of Law Enforcement on Drug Market Disruption

Crackdowns can be a viable approach to drug market disruption, but many suppression efforts are effective only for a short time, with the positive impacts typically not being sustainable unless additional long-term measures are in place (for example, community policing, community engagement and support, infrastructure improvements, job placement opportunities, or the like). Drug markets controlled by street gangs have been effectively disrupted (permanently in some situations), particularly when police, prosecutors, probation officers, and others worked collaboratively to disable the entire organizational structure at one time (Decker 2003).

Displacement, which occurs when illicit drug markets adapt to law enforcement techniques and subsequently migrate elsewhere and/or change the methods of dealing, remains an ongoing challenge for law enforcement (Johnson and Natarajan 1995). Although mapping and other innovative technologies sometimes allow researchers and police to anticipate and predict displacement patterns and develop effective strategies and responses accordingly, drug markets will nevertheless persist where demand continues to exist. Demand reductions strategies, including education, family services, drug treatment availability, mental health services, and career counseling, are all important supportive measures that can deter excessive drug use and abuse.

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