DRUG OFFENDERS ARE SERVING LONGER SENTENCES, REPORT SAYS

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 new 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 these
suspects were subsequently charged in a U.S. court, according to the
figures released yesterday.

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 would in reality deter drug crime if prevention and
treatment did not also become priorities.

Changes in federal statutes mean 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. Fewer than one in 20 were
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 over half were
younger than 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 1991-92 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 3d, associate law
professor at the Indiana University School of Law in Indianapolis and
coauthor 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."