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It Is Necessary At This Point To Consider In More Detail What Types Of Crime ...


It is necessary at this point to consider in more detail what types of crime is committed by people misusing drugs. Much drug-connected crime is non-violent, more concerned with acquiring the money to fund the misuser's addiction; these would include crimes such as theft, forgery or prostitution. However, CJSW's briefing paper suggests that drug's misuse can lead to violent crime in one of two ways; these are, (1) the effects of the drug can lead to aggressive behaviour, and, (2) violence can be used when committing the acquisitive crimes mentioned above. The paper makes it clear that these links are very much dependent on what type of drug is being abused. A study from the United States suggests that cocaine, particularly in the form of crack, can lead to violence, as can the use of barbiturates and amphetamines. However, overwhelming evidence suggests that the mostly likely addictive substance that will lead to violent outbursts from the abuser is alcohol.
The area that would produce the best ‘return for money' would be to stop the arrival of drugs into the country in the first place. The raw ingredients for most traditional drugs are not produced in this country; therefore, they have to be imported from abroad. Increasingly, the enforcement agencies in this country are assisting the international fight against drugs. Government is also helping address these issues, offering to help disrupt the opium harvest in countries like Afghanistan. The new SOCA has announced plans to have agents stationed abroad to assist in this disruption. Clearly, this is a major issue that requires serious measures. Much of the response to drug motivated crime has been met with moral outrage and dealt with accordingly; we will look at this in more depth later in the dissertation.
The drugs industry is large and profitable, which is what makes it necessary to respond to this problem from a number of different appropriate directions. An article in the Economist published in 2001, states that ‘if only it were legitimate, there would be much to admire about the drugs industry'. The article goes on to state that ‘it ishighly profitable. It produces goods for a small fraction of the price its customers are willing to pay[and] it has skilfully taken advantage of globalisation, deftly responding to changing markets and transports routes.' The article goes on to point out that the drugs industry produces work for some of the worlds poorest countries, and the ‘rich world's minorities and unskilled.' Drugs are a business, a very successful but anomalous
one.
The profitability of the drugs business must not be underestimated, as the potentially huge rewards justify the risky proactive behaviour. On the streets of the US a kilo of heroin sells for @$290,000, the price of a Rolls Royce car. It has been estimated that the revenue of the global drugs industry is analogous with Coca-Cola's world revenues.


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