Robert Rockwell

LEPSL 500: Critical Issues in Law Enforcement & Public Safety

University of San Diego: Professional & Continuing Education

America’s current criminal justice system has essentially become simply a criminal

system. This criminal system begins with the consistent demand for drugs, it is fueled by illegal

immigration and drug trafficking across our boarders, it makes a deposit into our current drug

abusers across America, which in-turn elicits a response by law enforcement, and ultimately ends

with an over-crowded custody system and high recidivism rates. It will take a combined and

coordinated effort of law enforcement personnel, government officials, and members of society,

to break free from this criminal chain. This paper will explore the stops along this broken

cyclical criminal system, and offer solutions to these issues.

Currently America is facing a drug problem of epic proportions. According to the

National Survey on Drug Use and Health, it is estimated that 20 million Americans aged 12 or

older have used an illegal drug within the past 30 days. Additionally, the nonmedical use or

abuse of prescription drugs, to include painkillers, sedatives, and stimulants is growing. It is

estimated that 48 million people ages 12 and older are using prescription drugs for nonmedical

reasons. This represents approximately 20 percent of the U.S. population. This problem is

present, it is real, and it is only getting worse.

The majority of drugs being abused in America are being imported across our borders in

a number of ways. The U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) tracks over one-million people

crossing the border daily. It tracks our shore-lines and ports, our incoming flights, agriculture,

electronics, goods, and several other mediums. On a typical day CBP seizes over ten thousand
pounds of drugs. Having said this, imagine how many thousands of pounds of drugs it is unable

to stop from coming into our country.

It is common to find immigrants currently coming into our country illegally

carrying drugs. Many of these illegal immigrants are “paying” their way into America by

bringing these drugs across the border for the Mexican mafia. Many of these “drug mules” are

caught as they are crossing the border. In fact, according to a 2011 report by the U.S. Border

Patrol, there were 286,000 illegal immigrant apprehensions. That is roughly 784 illegal

immigrants being apprehended each day. This information begs the question: How many

immigrants are sneaking through undetected? With the amount of money being made in

America’s booming illegal drug market, the Mexican mafia is finding new and innovative ways

to push their product across the border and guarantee their steady income.

To this point, it has been established that there is a large market for both illegal and

prescription drug use in America. It has also been established that this demand for product has

created a supply of drugs that is primarily coming from outside of the United States. As a

byproduct of this supply, immigration has found a new role of transporting this supply and

delivering it to America’s front door. The cycle is beginning to show its order of operations.

The next part of the cycle is putting the illegal product to use.

As stated before, drug use is rampant across the United States, and it is happening at an

early age. The addictive properties of drugs such as heroin, methamphetamines, and crack

cocaine, do not allow most drug abusers the opportunity to stop using. The craving and hunger

for these drugs has driven users to have the need to establish this “high” at all costs, even if it

means committing crimes for money or drugs. A 2006 report by the Bureau of Justice stated that
about a quarter of convicted property and drug offenders in local jails had committed their

crimes to get money for drugs. This statistic provides insight into the mind of a drug user, and

shows that many of the day to day crimes that are committed are linked to drug addiction.

Rampant drug use, and its effect on crime rates is not a new idea. It has been widely

understood for several decades now that the two go hand and hand. In the early 1970’s former

President Richard Nixon declared a war on drugs. His idea was to not only try and stop the

consumption of drugs, but also to focus on the eradication, interdiction, and incarceration of

those involved in the drug cycle. This task was one of epic proportions, and it is still currently a

part of the criminal cycle.

President Nixon and other following presidents devoted time, money, and resources to

the anti-drug cause. In fact, over the decades that followed, law enforcement officials targeted

drug sellers and users across America. There were gang task forces assembled that believed

targeting gang members would slow the distribution of drugs. There was also an influx of

officers patrolling disenfranchised areas of major cities looking to arrest their way out of this

drug epidemic. As it was, we were on the right track, and we were fighting back!

As the decades followed, Americans believed they were making progress in the war on

drugs. Statistics would show that arrests were up, and crime rates in some areas were down. To

show a comparison, in 1973 roughly four percent of all arrests made were due to drug law

violations. In 1990 this number was up to fourteen percent. This trend continued into the new

century where there were eighty percent more arrests for drug possession or use in 2010 than in

1990. Between 1990 and its peak in 2006, the arrest rate for drug possession or use increased

seventy-five percent.
 The war on drugs had a long run that spanned several decades. There are statistics that

show it was successful in some aspects, while others believe that it was a façade that simply

blanketed the giant white elephant in the corner of the room. Drugs and drug users are still just

as prevalent if not more so now days than ever before. President Nixon and others had addressed

the incarceration aspect of the war on drugs, but had failed to address the interdiction aspect of

the cycle. Drugs are still making their way into America keeping the criminal system rolling as

strong as ever.

The secondary and overlooked side effect of the war on drugs is currently taking its toll

on America. The decades of trying to arrest our way out of the drug problem, combined with

harsh incarceration sentencing has meant a high rate of individuals living in custody. Although

we were seeing some positive return for our efforts by lowering crime rates, it has now become

apparent that there are repercussions for our actions. Currently there are nearly seven million

people under supervision of the adult correctional system. Each of these individuals requires

care, custody, and basic human rights. All of these things require time, money, and resources.

Much of the cost of housing an inmate in a custodial setting is based on individual states. The

average cost per year is roughly $25,000, with some states being as high as $60,000. Not only

does it cost states millions of dollars per year to house these inmates, but combine that with the

labor, construction, programs, and miscellaneous expenses accrued each year, and there is a

major problem.

The high costs of housing inmates nationwide is simply one aspect of the current

incarceration conundrum. One of the other issues America is facing with individuals in custody

is the high rate of recidivism. A 2005 study of 405,000 released prisoners spanning thirty states

found that within three years of release, roughly two-thirds of these individuals had been
rearrested, and within five years of release, roughly three-quarters of these individuals had been

rearrested. That means that out of the 405,000 individuals released, over 300,000 returned to

incarceration. This is a serious problem in the criminal system, and it is another cog in the wheel

of the criminal cycle.

In conjunction with the high cost of housing inmates, and the high rates of recidivism

across the country, inmates are now going to jail to network and they are leaving custody as

better criminals. Currently some of America’s largest and most organized gangs are run through

jails and prisons. These gangs are raising money, selling drugs, making decisions, and even

orchestrating crimes outside of custody from inside a cell. Young men are now getting arrested

and sent to county jails in order to make a name for themselves. While in custody, they are

learning the ropes, finding individuals with similar interests, and becoming more effective and

efficient criminals. This experience in custody is contributing to the high rates of recidivism and

is the final step in the criminal cycle.

To this point it is clear to see how the criminal justice system has become a criminal

cycle. Each step in the cycle contributes to the next, and each step needs the next in order to

exist. Without a demand for drugs there is no need for supply. Without the supply of drugs

there is less smuggling and lower crime rates. There would be no need for a war on drugs with

lower crime rates and less drug smuggling across our borders. Without a war on drugs, there

would not be a major influx of criminals into our custody system over the past few decades.

Finally, America’s extremely high rates of recidivism lead us right back to the high demand for

drugs.

There are several different approaches currently in use designed to stop this cycle. Some

believe that a strong focus on monitoring our borders will not only slow drug flow into the
country, but it will discourage drug flow tied to immigration as well. There are others who

believe that the focus should be place on drug rehabilitation programs designed to help former

users become productive members of society once again. These are both viable options,

however they are both reactionary, and they continue to allow the current criminal system to take

hold of new victims. After all, once a person is addicted to drugs, it is a life long struggle to

remain sober. To add to that same idea, it is nearly impossible for a convicted felon to not only

get a job, but to maintain a steady life style for years to come. Without a job or a stable life

style, these individuals are slipping right back into their former way of life. It is clear that these

individuals are not getting the rehabilitation that they need. This is why we must focus on

preventing the drug problem at an individual level before it starts.

As stated before, drug use statistics are effecting kids as early as the age of 12. In order

to truly solve this issue, we must be proactive and equip our youth with the ability to say no. We

must put all of our attention toward youth activities that not only keep children busy, but give

them the necessary skills to avoid drug use in the future. Not only is this approach being

proactive, but if it is successful, and if it does lower the initial amount of drug users, it would

effectively lower all other statistics in the criminal cycle.

Another approach that is less proactive but possibly still effective would be to inflict

harsh punishments on those who sell, furnish, and transport drugs rather than focusing on stand-

alone drug users. As stated before, users are committing crimes in order to supply their habit,

and they are not being rehabilitated while in custody. They are getting out of custody as felons,

not getting jobs, falling into old habits, and the cycle repeats itself. If we are able to turn our

attention to selling, furnishing, and transporting drugs, we may again stop the problem of

addiction before it starts. It is widely understood that we will never be able to completely stop
the trafficking of drugs across our border, or the manufacturing of drugs inside our country.

However, if we can slow the process of selling, or remove the consumer for the equation by

focusing on the youth, we may find more success.

Another viable option, although maybe considered a little too extreme would be to

require American males from the ages of 18 to 20 years old to enlist in the United States

military. There are currently 51 countries that still require their population to, in some form,

enlist in military service. Although this may seem like an indirect or outside of the box thought

process as to how to fix the drug problem, it directly targets several issues along the way of the

criminal system.

First and foremost, it provides a proactive approach to keeping young people off of drugs.

If we are able to establish a strong network of youth activities and programs as mentioned

earlier, and then pass these same individuals off to the military, they will continue on a clean and

sober path. Secondly, these same individuals will be taught discipline, a useful skill or trade, it

will keep them busy, and give them money to go to college. With these learned skills, these

individuals will have the option to remain enlisted in the military, or take what they have learned

and begin to apply it in the real world. Enlistment in the military will lower the rate of crime,

lower the amount of drug use, lower the unemployment rate, and allow the country to use the

money it is spending on housing inmates to proactively spend it on salaries of successful

individuals in the United States military.

As stated earlier, this idea may seem radical or even a violation of an American’s rights.

Having said that, understand that this criminal system is not going away easily. It is going to

take hard work from every productive member of society to lower these somber statistics.

Although it may seem radical to think about mandatory military service, there comes a time that
mundane actions and regular responses do not work anymore. The criminal justice system is

fighting to maintain balance in every aspect that has been mentioned in this paper, however there

will come a time that it cannot hold any longer. At that point, society may come to the

understanding that radical decisions must be made when facing overwhelming circumstances.
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