MORE DOING MORE TIME FOR DRUGS

Busts, prison terms on the rise, but are tough sentencing guidelines
deterring drug use?

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 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 those
suspects subsequently were charged in a U.S. court, according to the
figures, which were released Sunday.

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 will deter drug crime if prevention and treatment do
not become a priority, too.

Changes in federal statutes meant 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. Less than one in 20 was
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 more than half
were under the age of 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 1991-1992 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 III, associate law
professor at the Indiana University School of Law in Indianapolis and
co-author 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," he
said.

Alfred Blumstein, a criminologist at Carnegie-Mellon University, said the
apparent inconsistency in the figures could be explained by a strong growth
in the length of sentences during the 1980s, which had leveled and then
declined during the '90s.

"The problem (with punitive responses) is that it does not take you very
far," added Blumstein. "The drug market is demand driven ... and so you
have to deal with that through prevention and treatment."