FEDERAL DRUG ARRESTS MORE THAN DOUBLE SINCE '86

Study: Offenses Mostly Were Trafficking

WASHINGTON -- More than 30,000 people were charged with federal drug
offenses in 1999, more than double the roughly 12,000 defendants 15 years
earlier, according to a Justice Department study released Sunday.

About 90 percent of those convicted were traffickers. Four percent of
federal drug criminals were convicted of simple possession.

The study 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.

Attorney General John Ashcroft said the report shows federal drug laws are
succeeding in catching serious criminals and keeping them behind bars longer.

Researchers for the department's Bureau of Justice Statistics found that
the longer prison times are the result of federal laws passed over the past
two decades that require mandatory minimum sentences for drug crimes.

"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, non-violent
offenders charged with drug possession."

Previous convictions

About half of defendants had a previous conviction.

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 defendants had drug offenses as the primary charge against them.

James Alan Fox, a criminologist at Northeastern University, said
prosecutors are getting only 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.

About a quarter of defendants were not U.S. citizens.

Additional findings

Other findings in the report:

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

More than 25,000 defendants were convicted, about 89 percent of those charged.

Nearly a third were involved with marijuana, 42 percent with cocaine and 13
percent with methamphetamine.

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

But law professors said figures from the Administrative Office of the
United States Courts revealed that since 1991-1992 the average drug
sentence had declined 22 percent -- or nearly two years -- per defendant,
and that preliminary figures from the Sentencing Commission showed the
decline continuing throughout fiscal 2000.

About 21 percent of convicted drug criminals received a reduced sentence
because they were first-time, non-violent offenders. Twenty-two percent
received reduced sentences because they provided substantial assistance to
authorities.

IF YOU'RE INTERESTED

Read the report on the Web (www.ojp.usdoj.gov"bjs"abstract"fdo99.htm).

The Washington Post contributed to this report.