Drugs Interventions in the Criminal System

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DRUGS INTERVENTIONS IN THE CRIMINAL SYSTEM

Problem of drugs use is defined as the one which involves any kind of addiction. Extreme regular use of drugs can cause serious risks for health. It is difficult to estimate the actual number of people that are involved in these types of behaviours. A survey conducted by British Crime Committee shows that approximately 4 million people are involved in using illegal drugs every year. Approximately 3 percent of population that use drugs are stated as problematic users.

Since last 20 to 30 years, people have been worried about the use and availability of harmful drugs (such as cocaine, heroine, etc) that have led the world towards the war of drugs. This war involve various departments that include local, national and state efforts for stopping the distribution and inflow of drugs and to decrease its use among individuals by enforcing laws and drug possessions. The essay reviews various studies conducted in context of drug interventions in criminal justice system, by developing an understanding about the researches that were carried out and their outcomes.

The intervention of criminal justice system is considered to be effective when used in integrating problematic users in different treatment programmes. Referral systems are developed in order to build a link between the treatment systems and criminal justice systems (Edmunds et al, 1998).

Reuter and Stevens conducted a study in 2008 focusing on discussing the impact of illegal drug usage on the designing of public policies. Their objective was to create a link between continuously increasing use of drugs and the property crime makers. It was aimed to evaluate the efforts made for reducing the drugs markets, drug addiction and on how these have affected the crime scenes in Wales and England. They also suggested that the drug policies developed by government can play an effective role in reducing the use of drugs, although, it can be more effective in reducing drug related crimes. According to their study, around 332,000 drug users in England contributed a dominating population of 9.97 per thousand aged between 16 to 54 in 2006/2005 (Hay et, 2007 cited in Reuter and Stevens, 2008). Furthermore, their article also focused on decreasing the availability of drug use in 1999, which stated that seizing drug production will not stop or reduce the availability of drugs in UK. Another aspect that was highlighted in their research was the prevention of drug usage. It has been argued a number of times that the use of drugs and its related crimes, either caused by market issues or drug use, can be decrease by drugs prevention. The government has made efforts in providing detailed information about drugs by spreading awareness through educating people about drugs and through Frank services. For instance, it give authority to the teachers to take strict actions against people who are found to be involved in drug dealing at school. Teachers are also encouraged to work with the local organizations and the police to prevent the ...