Effectiveness of the Criminal Justice Process in Reducing Drug & Drug-Related Crimes in England & Wales

Abstract

Current views on drug legislation and policies have focused on law enforcement and the coercive trend of treatment approaches under the supervision of the criminal justice system with more punitive provisions against traffickers and dealers, especially for Class A drugs, either in sentencing length or through ancillary orders (e.g. confiscation and forfeiture).
Both the medical and punitive paradigms have been evident in drug legislation and policy decisions. Social, human, cultural, and political considerations have been added to the policy framework; for example, the effects of drug misuse among young people and the wish to develop some international consistency in approaches to drug crime. This research study sought to review the current drugs legislation, policies and sentencing trends in England and Wales in order to arrive at a view of the desirable legal and policy changes which would increase the effectiveness of drugs laws, policies and sentencing provisions.
To achieve this purpose, an evaluation review in terms of objectives, changes, effectiveness, debate about them, and the extent of their application was carried out on drug legislation and polices. In addition, a case study including interviews with probation officers and observations of court review sessions was conducted in order to explore the views of expert professionals on drug provisions, their strengths, weaknesses and impact on the drug control agenda as well as policy approaches adopted in this field.