Drug related crime

Question 1

What is the Bennett 3 fold definition?

Answer 1

1. drug offences - crimes defined nd rug legisaltion eg possession adn supply
2. drug related crime - crimes commtted as a direct consequence of drug use
3. Drug trafficking - offences indirectly caused by drug use

Question 2

What are the costs of drug related crime?

Answer 2

Unclear, figures are questimates on amount of people in treatment programmes and being pulled over

Question 3

How many adults have taken an illegal drug in their lifetime?

Answer 3

1 in 3

8.9% have taken illegal substance in last year (2.3 cannabis

Question 4

According to the drug misuses act what is penality for drug possession?

Answer 4

Class A - 7 years
Class B - 5 years
Class C - 2 years

Question 5

What percentage of crime is drug related?

Answer 5

20-70%

Question 6

What is voodoo criminology?

Answer 6

tendency to ignore methodalogical limitations linked to the use of surveys and drug testing research to exaggerate the scale and causality of the links

Question 7

What are measurement issues?

Answer 7

How can we know what types of crime - and how much of it is linked to drugs?
Motivation? how do we know they wouldnt have done it anyway?
is being a drug user enough to define crime as drug related?

Question 8

Do drugs cause crime?

Answer 8

No, correlation but not cause

Question 9

What percentage of homeless people used drugs?

Answer 9

aged 16-25 95% had used drugs

Question 10

What % of young offenders are drug users?

Answer 10

85%

Question 11

What percentage of sex workers are drug users?

Answer 11

81%

Question 12

What did Holloway and Bennet find?

Answer 12

Small amount repsonible for large amount of crime. Mostly acquisitve

Question 13

Labelling theory?

Becker 1963

Answer 13

doesnt explain primary deviance. can be quite self affirming if people think youre funny when high

Question 14

Subculture theory?

Answer 14

good in understanding role of peer pressure. seen as collective problem solving. can be seeen as solving statis frustration.
collective response to alienation eg poverty, racism

Question 15

Seduction of crime

Answer 15

type of rational choice- weigh up pros and cons
addiction is a poor outcome from a choice
not interested in causes - people CHOOSE

Question 16

Who are the victims?

Answer 16

Referred to as victimless

reluctant to refer to drugs as a health problem whereas tobacco and alcohol are!!!!!

Question 17

What are the opium wars?

Answer 17

GB monopolised their trade to profit from opium - supplied china who then experienced large amounts of addiction

Question 18

What happened at the Hague convention 1912?

Answer 18

Countries became mre concerned with drug use - cocaine and opium. soldiers became addicts in WW1.
needed to stop drugs becoming freely available

Question 19

How long has cannabis been illegal?

Answer 19

Since 1928

Question 20

What happened at the 1961 single convention on narcotic drugs?

Answer 20

over 100 countries signed up. all activities to do with drugs made illegal
stories created to cause moral panics
certain drugs linked to cold war with no scientific logic

Question 21

Whats the misuse of drugs act 1971?

Answer 21

classification of illicit drugs (A, B, C)
Catergorisation determines penalties
sentencing council guidelines- produced by sentencing council
Drug strategies

Question 22

What are the 5 drug offences in the uk?

Answer 22

Production offences
import and export offences
supply offences
possession
permitting premises offences

Question 23

What do United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime do?

Answer 23

Lots of research

Question 24

What do International narcotics control board do?

Answer 24

Responsible for ensuring countries follow 1961 convention

Question 25

What do Europol/Interpol do?

Answer 25

Policing bodies
lead agency in each country and report data on certain projects
important as drugs cross boundaries so need collaboration

Question 26

What do UK border agency do?

Answer 26

Responsible for most seizures in terms of quantity 2-3% of seizures but huge quantaties

Question 27

Heroin production and trafficking

Answer 27

huge global market - 560 tonnes per year
afghanistan produces 80%
mexico now producing as well - diversification
western europe one of biggest consumers of heroin

Question 28

What are synthetics?

Answer 28

amphetamines, ecstasy etc
problematic as can be produced anywhere
ecstacy traditoonally produced in holland
meth produced anywhere with large open space - australia, us

Question 29

Cannabis

Answer 29

largest drug market
6000 tons of resin
herb grown all over the world - 25% in Africa, 23% in N&S America
contemporary changes in cannabis production from the outdoors to domestically produces hydroponic grow sites

Question 30

What are challenges in responding to drugs offences?

Answer 30

scale of activties and the ineffectveness of law enforcement
transnational in scope
unintended consequences of law enforcement

Question 31

What are the transnational challenges in europe?

Answer 31

Holland neighbours not keen to sign shengen agreement allowing free flow between borders as it allows weed to be easily brought across
can’t ban foreigners from buying as creates new problems of dealers in other countries

Question 32

What has the internet allowed to happen?

Answer 32

Diversification
allows for change in market
black market keeps popping up
feedback system may reduce harm but atlantis was a huge scam

Question 33

What are the links to other crimes?

Answer 33

people smuggling, organised prostitution and travel document counterfeiting

Question 34

What are the unintended consequences of law enforcement?

Answer 34

displacement - geographical, dealer (turf wars), substance (ban one drug another will replace it)
Corruption
stop and search is discriminating