Drugs, Crime, and Justice is an engaging, yet comprehensive, analysis of the interrelationships among drug use/abuse, crime, and justice. The first four chapters introduce readers to the interrelationships between drugs and crime, while the second later chapters provide readers with an overview of historical and contemporary policies, as well as a comprehensive review of research on policing drug markets, arresting drug offenders, and prosecution and sentencing of drug offenders in state and federal courts. Steven Belenko and Cassia Spohn also examine and assess the impact of the war on drugs and conclude with a discussion of recent policy changes such as drug courts and reform/repeal of mandatory minimum sentences and an examination of new and emerging drug policies in the 21st Century.
For courses in Drugs and Crime, Drugs and Criminal Justice, Drugs and Society, and The Sociology of Substance Abuse Drugs, Society, and Criminal Justice is a highly readable introduction to the major facts and issues concerning criminal justice and drug-taking behavior in America today. Building on sociological theory, it explores the social problems associated with drug use and the theoretical reasons for drug use and abuse. It then delves into the complex relationship between drug-taking behavior and crime. Distinctive chapters include: Understanding the Drug Problem in America (Chapter 1), Understanding the Drug Problem in Global Perspective (Chapter 2), The History of Drug Use and Drug-Control Policy (Chapter 3), Drugs and Crime (Chapter 6), Drugs and Law Enforcement (Chapter 7), and Drugs, Courts, and Correctional Systems (Chapter 8). Discussion-starting features spotlight prominent figures, drug trafficking realities, and life-saving information as the book explores how drug use and abuse impact the criminal justice system.
Surveys administered to high school students, studies carried out on jail and prison inmates, and interviews conducted with substance abusers undergoing treatment all point to the same conclusion: drugs and crime are strongly connected. Why they are connected is less well understood, however. Written for middle to upper-level undergraduate courses on drugs and crime or substance abuse and crime, this book examines the drug-crime connection in a systematic and comprehensive way. This book covers the entire drug-crime spectrum, starting with a review of drug and crime terminology, classification and theory, and ending with policy implications for prevention, harm reduction, and macro-level management of the drug-crime problem. The opening chapters discuss drugs and crime separately for the purpose of setting the stage for later discussions on drug-crime relationships. As the book proceeds, the boundaries between drugs and crime blur, thus revealing the complex and intimate relationship that links these two behaviors.
This edited volume provides the first ever comprehensive, international and multi-disciplinary review of the evidence regarding substance use and harms in people who cycle through prisons and jails. Grounded in solid evidence and a human rights framework, the text provides a roadmap for evidence-based reform
As the articles in this collection explore the drug-crime connection, it examines the "cause" of the strong association between drugs & crime. This collection offers a solid foundation for readers who aspire to be well-informed participants in this critical debate.
This book provides a description of illicit drug use in the US, including the drugs being used, their effects, and who is using them. An historical analysis of federal laws and policies designed to stop drug use and trafficking in the US and abroad, as well as a political analysis of drug legislation, is also offered.
"Bennett and Holloway's Understanding Drugs, Alcohol, and Crime isthe best, most up-to-date and comprehensive examination for theUnited Kingdom of interactions among drugs, alcohol, and crime. Theauthors exhaustively and authoritatively survey current knowledge inthe UK, and from many other countries, on drug and alcohol use ascause, and consequence, of crime, and the effects of law enforcementand treatment responses. Clearly written, unfailingly lucid, andadmirably accurate, this book will be the indispensable work onBritish drug policy for many years to come." Professor Michael Tonry, University of Minnesota Law School, USA "What makes this book particularly interesting is the refreshingly non judgmental presentation which conveys the essence of very important issues in contemporary society. Therefore, this is an ideal text not only for students but also for policy makers, drugs and alcohol counsellors, treatment agencies and everyone interested in doing research on drugs, alcohol and crime." Nicoletta Policek, University of Abertay, Dundee "The publication is not only an excellent summary of the existing research in Great Britain, and to a lesser extent from other jurisdictions, it is a foundation for future research by evoking , and at times provoking, questions and offering a variety of possible responses." Hirsch Greenberg, University of Regina What is the connection between drugs, alcohol and crime? What works in reducing drugs and alcohol-related crime? The book provides a succinct overview of current theory and research on the links between drugs, alcohol use and crime. It discusses the legal and social context of drug and alcohol use and identifies current levels of consumption. Focusing on the UK context, it also takes into account international research where appropriate. Detailed review of the research literature on the connections between drug use and crime Examines the current government anti-drugs policy and assesses the effectiveness of programmes that have been used to reduce drug and alcohol-related crime. The book concludes that future government drugs policy should pay particular attention to the lessons learned from research on the connection between drug and alcohol use and crime. Ideal for criminology, criminal justice, social policy and social work students, this book will also be a useful source of information for policy makers, the police, probation workers, social workers, drugs and alcohol counsellors, treatment agencies, sentencers, voluntary agencies, Drug Action Teams, and others with an interest in research on drugs and crime.
Drugs, Crime and Public Health provides an accessible but critical discussion of recent policy on illicit drugs. Using a comparative approach - centred on the UK, but with insights and complementary data gathered from the USA and other countries - it argues that problematic drug use can only be understood in the social context in which it takes place.
Annotation Attitudes towards crime, criminals, and rehabilitation have shifted considerably, yet the idea that there is a causal link between drug adiction and crime prevails.
In its steady march across the United States, methamphetamine has become, to quote former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, OC the most dangerous drug in America.OCO As a result, there has been a concerted effort at the local level to root out the methamphetamine problem by identifying the people at its sourceOCothose known or suspected to be involved with methamphetamine. Government-sponsored anti-methamphetamine legislation has enhanced these local efforts, formally and informally encouraging rural residents to identify meth offenders in their communities. Policing Methamphetamine shows what happens in everyday lifeOCoand to everyday lifeOCowhen methamphetamine becomes an object of collective concern. Drawing on interviews with users, police officers, judges, and parents and friends of addicts in one West Virginia town, William Garriott finds that this overriding effort to confront the problem changed the character of the community as well as the role of law in creating and maintaining social order. Ultimately, this work addresses the impact of methamphetamine and, more generally, the war on drugs, on everyday life in the United States.
