FEDERAL DRUG CHARGES DOUBLE IN 15 YEARS

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Over 30,000 people were charged with federal drug
offenses in 1999, more than double the number 15 years earlier, and most of
those convicted were drug traffickers, a Justice Department study says.
Attorney General John Ashcroft said the report shows federal drug laws are
succeeding in catching the serious criminals and keeping them behind bars
longer. One crime expert disputed that, saying only a fraction of
traffickers are being arrested. The study released Sunday by the
department's Bureau of Justice Statistics found only 4 percent of drug
criminals were convicted of simple possession. Ninety-one percent were
convicted of trafficking. It also found drug offenders are serving longer
sentences.

The average prison stay rose to 5 1/2 years in 1999 from 2 1/2 years in
1986. The longer prison times are the result of federal laws passed over
the past two decades that require mandatory minimum sentences for drug
crimes, researchers said. "Tougher federal drug laws are making a real
difference in clearing major drug offenders from our nation's streets,"
Ashcroft said. "Federal drug offenders are predominantly hard-core
criminals with prior arrest records who are convicted for drug trafficking,
not first-time, nonviolent offenders charged with drug possession." The
report showed that 30,099 defendants were charged with a federal drug
offense in 1999, the most recent year for which data was available.

In 1984, 11,854 were charged with drug crimes. James Alan Fox, a
criminologist at Northeastern University, said that while the jump reflects
the government's increased drug-fighting efforts, prosecutors are only
getting the tip of the iceberg. "We are devoting a tremendous amount of
money and resources to this relentless war on drugs, which is not winnable"
he said. Almost half of those charged with drug offenses in the period
studied were Hispanic, 28 percent were black and 25 percent were
non-Hispanic white. John Scalia, the report's author, said the Hispanic
count was high because many cases involved drug smuggling across the
U.S.-Mexico border. "A lot of cases prosecuted by U.S. attorneys involve
importation, especially of marijuana," Scalia said. About a quarter of
defendants were not U.S. citizens. Other findings in the report:

* About half of defendants had a previous conviction and a third were under
justice supervision when they were arrested.

* Drug prosecutions made up 32 percent of the federal criminal caseload in
1999, compared with 18 percent in 1984.

* More than 25,000 defendants were convicted.

Almost half had no prior convictions. Nearly a third were involved with
marijuana, 42 percent with powder or crack cocaine and 13 percent with
methamphetamines.

* Most were subject to mandatory minimum prison sentences.

But about 21 percent of convicted drug criminals received a reduced
sentence under a 1994 law exempting many first-time, nonviolent drug
offenders from mandatory sentences.

* The average sentence rose to 74 months from 62 months in 1986. Actual
time served jumped to 66 months from 30 months.