Pubdate: Mon, 20 Aug 2001 Source: Spokesman-Review (WA) Copyright: 2001 The Spokesman-Review Contact: http://www.spokesmanreview.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/417 Author: Glenda Cooper, Washington Post MORE DOING MORE TIME FOR DRUGS Busts, prison terms on the rise, but are tough sentencing guidelines deterring drug use? WASHINGTON _ Drug offenders spend a year more in prison on average than they did 15 years ago, and drug offenses now make up about one- third of federal criminal cases -- both the result of tougher drug sentencing, according to figures from the Department of Justice Bureau of Statistics. More than 38,200 suspects were referred to federal prosecutors in 1999 for alleged drug offenses, up from 11,854 in 1984. About 84 percent of those suspects subsequently were charged in a U.S. court, according to the figures, which were released Sunday. But criminal justice experts immediately questioned the agency's conclusions, saying that according to Sentencing Commission figures, sentences had fallen during the 1990s. Others questioned whether more punitive prison terms will deter drug crime if prevention and treatment do not become a priority, too. Changes in federal statutes meant that from 1984 to 1999, prison terms imposed on drug offenders have increased from 62 months to 74 months on average. Almost 90 percent of drug defendants were convicted, and the vast majority were convicted of drug trafficking. Less than one in 20 was convicted of simple possession of drugs. Of 38,288 suspects referred to federal prosecutors for alleged drug offenses during 1999, 31 percent were involved with marijuana; 28 percent, cocaine powder; 15 percent, crack cocaine; and 15 percent, methamphetamine. The rest were involved with opiates and other drugs. Just more than half were under the age of 30, and most were importers, manufacturers and large-scale dealers. Racial differences were stark: 86 percent of crack cocaine offenders were black, while 72 percent of methamphetamine offenders were white. Cocaine was spread through all ethnic groups. During 1999, the longest prison terms were imposed on drug offenders involved with crack (114 months), drug offenders who possessed firearms (156 months) and those with extensive records (125 months). Twenty-eight percent of defendants received reduced sentences after providing substantial assistance to prosecutors. Attorney General John Ashcroft welcomed the findings. "This report shows that tougher federal drug laws are making a real difference in clearing major drug offenders from our streets," he said. "Federal law enforcement is targeted effectively at convicting major drug traffickers and punishing them with longer lockups in prison." But law professors questioned the Bureau of Statistics' conclusions. They said figures from the Administrative Office of the United States Courts revealed that since 1991-1992 the average drug sentence had declined by 22 percent -- or nearly two years -- per defendant, and that preliminary figures from the Sentencing Commission showed the decline continuing throughout fiscal year 2000. "It's clear to me that more federal judges and prosecutors have voted with their feet on sentence length," said Frank O. Bowman III, associate law professor at the Indiana University School of Law in Indianapolis and co-author of "Quiet Rebellion? Explaining Nearly a Decade of Declining Federal Drug Sentences." "They are saying as a group that they don't think drug sentences need to be as long as they are to accomplish their aim," he said. Alfred Blumstein, a criminologist at Carnegie-Mellon University, said the apparent inconsistency in the figures could be explained by a strong growth in the length of sentences during the 1980s, which had leveled and then declined during the '90s. "The problem (with punitive responses) is that it does not take you very far," added Blumstein. "The drug market is demand driven ... and so you have to deal with that through prevention and treatment." - --- MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart