DRUG CASES, SENTENCES SEEN RISING

But Some Challenge Federal Data

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, showed the figures,
released Sunday.

But criminal justice experts immediately questioned the agency's
conclusions, saying that according to Sentencing Commission figures,
sentences fell during the 1990s.

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. Less than one in 20 were
convicted of simple possession of drugs.

Of 38,288 suspects referred to federal prosecutors for alleged drug
offenses in 1999, 31 percent were involved with marijuana, 28 percent
cocaine powder, 15 percent crack cocaine and 15 percent methamphetamine.
Just over half were under the age of 30 and most were importers,
manufacturers and major 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.''

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,'' he said. ''The drug market is demand-driven . . . and so you have to
deal with that through prevention and treatment.''