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Drug abuse: Tendencies and ways to overcome it

Drug-related Crimes:

It is possible to define drug abuse as a negative social phenomenon

touching upon the social, legal, criminological, economic, biological and

ecological areas accordingly. One part of the phenomenon is drug addiction,

as a disease, and other, embraces all the law-breaking actions related to

drugs: those carried out to secure means for purchasing drugs or those

committed under the influence of drugs. Such law-breaking actions cover the

use, preparation, purchase, storage, transportation, parcel mail, sale and

theft of narcotic substances; attempts to force other people to use drugs

and the creation of conditions conducive to such use; attempts to sow and

grow drug-bearing plants; attempts to violate the established rules

regulating the production, purchase, storage, control, sale, transportation

or parcel mail of narcotic substances; and, drug smuggling. The law-

breaking actions also cover various mercenary crimes (violent crime) that

are not drug-related but are committed in order to buy drugs subsequently

(theft, robbery, plunder, fraud, blackmail and others) and also violent

crimes committed under the influence of drugs (e.g., hooliganism against

individuals). This notion reflects the essence and the confines of the drug

use and serves as a guideline for determining its scale and developing

strategies against it. Yet the true scale of this phenomenon is obscured by

a high degree of latent drug-induced diseases and law-breaking drug-related

actions.

Narcotics and Crime:

The above-listed law-breaking actions are crimes proving an

interrelation between drug abuse and crime. Drugs and crime are not only

closely interrelated, but actually blend fully, and in fact, becomes what

is known, as narco-crime. But to merely establish this fact is not enough.

The danger drug-related crimes pose to the public surpasses the danger

coming from other crimes. Drug-related crime is largely interrelated with

various other kinds of crime and even merges with one of its most dangerous

varieties such as organized crime. This becomes clear studying the dynamics

of drug-related crimes. Central here are the drug users who represent a

consumer of narcotics, and the ultimate target of drug trafficking - the

sale of drugs. When people become dependent on drugs they concentrate all

their efforts on getting drugs at any cost. They engage in criminal

activities ranging from the cultivation of drug-bearing plants and the

preparation of "stuff", to its sale.

Tendencies of Development:

The number of drug users grows in direct proportion to the rise in

crimes committed under the influence of narcotics and, in the long run, to

the profits earned by the drug dealers. Hence, drug dealers seek to 1)

expand the drug sales; 2) increase the output of drugs or receive more of

them from medical and pharmaceutical centers; and, 3) further promote

criminal activities connected to drugs. The latter seems to ensure the

realization of the former. A high degree of organization paves the way for

expanding drug sales, increasing the output and boosting drug trafficking.

Expanding Drug Sales:

The expansion of drug sales is achieved by persuading more people to

take drugs. Drug dealers set up drug pads and stores where narcotics are

available. They try to advertise them in indirect ways. They make sure that

more powerful drugs are continuously being developed.

In order to increase drug output drug-bearing plants are grown on

remote plantations in regions with difficult access. Illegal shops and

laboratories for developing new types of narcotics are set up there. Funds

for increasing drug output are raised by blackmailing or bribing public

officials. Drug-dealers practice violence, make threats against officials

and encourage theft of large amounts of drugs.

Boosting the Level of Organization of the Illegal Drug Trafficking

Business Methods to improve the level of organization include mergers of

criminal groups and associations, severe disciplinary measures within

criminal organizations, greater degree of cohesion among group members,

conspiratorial rules, and tougher actions against those who violate the

rules in such groups. Other methods are: increasing attempts to draw

government officials into criminal groups, taking control of persons

engaged in drug-related crimes on their own, centralizing finances and

monopolizing drug prices.

According to various studies there are quite a few syndicates and

cartels in the world that have divided drug trafficking regions among

themselves. Activities of these groups are guided by a clear-cut system of

criminal actions, such as promoting the sowing and cultivation of drug-

bearing plants, the production of narcotics, their wholesale purchase, and

the transportation and sales of drugs to consumers. Drug syndicates and

cartels, for whom drug trafficking is the main source of income, act under

the guise of legitimate companies, trying to come across as legal as

possible. They have airplanes, modern weapons and the newest technology in

their possession. Leaders of the criminal drug associations do their utmost

to oppose the actions of law enforcement agencies. With this purpose in

mind, they not only try to check police actions but make attempts,

successful at times, to infiltrate police ranks. Professional criminals

deploy defense measures that may prove to be so effective in challenging

the worthiness of surveillance of suspects and the bugging of their phones.

United into cartels and syndicates and organizationally divided into groups

and associations, drug- criminals are usually aware that they remain under

constant surveillance. To ensure their personal safety they resort, as a

rule, to various counter-surveillance measures, thus putting well-trained

police officers in a difficult position. Experience shows that criminal

groups usually keep the approaches to places where narcotics are turned

over under their own close watch.

Ways to Legalize Drug Profits:

Drug dealers seek not only to build up profits from drug trafficking

but to legalize them as well. To that end they engage in criminal

activities where by legal and illegal operations are inextricably

intertwined. The money earned from the trade in narcotics is invested into

legitimate businesses or in real estate. It may also be laundered in

financial transactions, such as, the purchase of shares and securities or

other newly invented and constantly perfected operations. The income thus

obtained allows drug dealers not only to pour more money into drug

trafficking or finance more drug-related crimes but also provides for a

legal coverage of drug trade, or for the participation in legal activities.

Speakers at the international seminar on combating organized crime in the

Russian city of Suzdal in 1992 held in accord with the resolution of the

45th session of the UN General Assembly, pointed out that "in the majority

of countries, organized crime developed along two directions: participating

in prohibited activities (property crimes, money laundering, illegal drug

trafficking, violation of hard currency transaction rules, intimidation,

prostitution, gambling, trade in weapons and antiques) and joining legal

business (directly or using such parasitical means as extortion. This

participation in legal economic activities is always bent for the use of

illegal competition methods and may have a greater economic impact compared

to the involvement in totally illegal kinds of activity). In short,

criminal methods are used in both cases leading to the situation in which

criminal elements form the majority of organized criminal formations.

Organized Narco-crime:

Typically, drug cartels and syndicates are highly organized. Present in

the organizations are: strict and precise distribution of functions; very

rigid hierarchies; internal discipline maintained by interest, authority

and force; stringent conspiracy; ramified networks of groups bound by firm

organizational ties; branches existing and functioning in various

countries; contacts with other criminal groups (counterfeiters, smugglers,

murderers etc.); the use of professional criminals; the

internationalization of group members; and, the use of violence to meet the

desired ends. To protect their huge profits and spheres of interest, the

subjects of narco-criminals stop at nothing and employ violent means, such

as the contract murders of their rivals and of law enforcement agents. The

money brought by the trade in drugs is often used to finance dangerous

crimes and acts of terrorism. It becomes a source, which finances

subversive activities of all kinds. Profits obtained from the drug trade

make it possible to finance large-scale armed operations against government

forces (like in Columbia or Mexico). Profit gained from the drug trade is

often compared with the profits earned by whole industries. The drug trade

is regarded as the world's second largest economy. All this enables drug

dealers not only to pay generously for the participation in crimes but also

to set up a common financial fund, a common bank, so to speak. Narco-money

is also used to exert influence on policy-making, particularly, by

nominating the associates of drug dealers to key posts in the economy and

politics or by bribing persons who already hold such posts and turning them

into supporters of the drugs trade. These financial investments are

reinforced by threats of violence against them or their close relatives

(wives, children or parents). This proves convincingly that narco-crime is

a well organized and well planned business incorporating the mutually inter-

related criminal activities of individuals, groups, associations,

syndicates and cartels with a division of mutually interrelated functions.

This is the reason to regard this kind of crime as a variety of organized

crime. Some researchers believe that drug profits are the economic

foundation of organized crime. This can be seen in comparison of elements

forming narco- and organized crimes. To get a clear understanding of the

elements of the latter it is necessary to look in retrospect at the history

of organized crime. While crime and drug addiction have been known to the

world for at least several centuries, the existence of organized crime has

been officially recognized quite recently, only in this century. Yet both

national and foreign researchers date the origin of this phenomenon, in one

way or another, to a much earlier period.

Various stable criminal organizations used to appear and operate on

territories of almost all modern states. Gangs of brigands and smugglers

were at work not only on land but also at sea (sea pirates). They had in

their possession caches of weapons, stocks of gold and food and, sometimes,

entire fleets of pirate boats furnished with everything necessary for an

attack and ready to go into combat with regular troops or ships. They

thereby challenged borders and laws. Already at that time members of such

gangs observed their own internal rules and traditions strictly, contrary

to the ones obligatory in society. Among them there was the principle of

mutual help, the recognition of the leaders' authority, the distribution of

duties and spoils, as well as a system of reward and punishment. Gangsters

knew exactly the kind of work they were responsible for and also knew their

zones of influence (slave trade, cattle stealing, smuggling arms,

narcotics, gold, diamonds, etc). They talked their own language and stuck

to other conspiratorial rules. Taking hostages and bribing officials were

their usual practices, very much like the actions of the present day

organized crime groups.

With the passing of time, of course, these organizations kept

transforming and modernizing, adjusting to changes of state borders,

governments and economies. They were turning more and more into organized

criminal associations that posed a serious threat to public safety, to the

supremacy of the law and to other state institutions. As researchers point

out, a particular danger of organized crime is that it becomes more and

more arrogant, aggressive, ingenious and diverse. In the 1980s, organized

crime became increasingly apparent throughout the world.

Forms of Organized Crime:

Along with traditional forms of organized crime, new forms, more

diverse and greater in scale, have appeared, such as the theft and re-sale

of luxury cars, electronic equipment, historical and cultural art objects,

antiques, icons and church plate. Other forms include the illegal trade in

human being, weapons and ammunition, strategic raw materials, non-ferrous

and rare metals, drugs counterfeiting, theft and forgery of credit cards,

gambling, and infiltration of legal business and world finance. An analysis

of documents issued by the UN Information Center proves that the influence

of various forms of organized crime spreads far beyond national borders and

"transnationalize crime", so to speak. This creates a situation which

"differs, both qualitatively and quantitatively, from the situation in the

past and hampers the accomplishment of effective measures aiming to prevent

and eliminate crime. Experts believe that the evolution of organized crime

should be seen as "a process providing for a rational reorganization on the

international basis of criminal enterprises using the same patterns just as

it is the case for legal enterprises." This process reflects tendencies for

forming a more intricate organizational structure typical of the modern

society in all countries. This explains why the UN Secretary General

pointed out in his speech at the 47th General Assembly session on September

28, 1992, that it was imperative to promote international cooperation and

develop practical steps against organized crime in view of its negative

impact on various areas of society's social, political and economic life.

Though extremely topical, problems of organized crime have not yet been

resolved properly by juridical theory and practice. Suffice it to say that

there are still some countries where no laws on organized crime have yet

been passed. There is no uniform approach to the concept of organized crime

at the legislative level. The attributes and signs of this phenomenon have

not yet been finalized. No attempts have yet been made to develop a

comprehensive program of action against it. There are few statistics or

official data on organized crime as a whole.

For example, in the former USSR the first official mention of organized

crime made at the government level was on December 2, 1989, when the

decision to step up the effort against organized crime was passed by the

2nd Congress of People's Deputies. However, no laws regarding organized

crime have been adopted. This could not help but leave its imprint on the

practical activities of law enforcement agencies in the former Union

republics. There was no solid theoretical discussion of the concept of

organized crime, as the scarce publications of the last few years could

hardly give a complete picture of this problem.

Some published works, however, contain a number of definitions of

organized crime. Some authors point to the following basic features.

Criminal groups based on hierarchical order consolidate within the borders

of one particular region or a country; their leaders take no part in crimes

but only perform organizational, managerial and ideological functions.

Government officials, including law enforcement officers, become corrupt

and join criminal activities providing safety to the members of criminal

associations. This association has a tendency to monopolize and expand the

spheres of illegal activities, and to protect leaders from bearing any

responsibility. Another group of authors believe that organized crime is a

system of contacts forming naturally in the criminal surroundings which

lead to the concentration and monopolization of certain kinds of criminal

activities. Diversified ties between groups engaged in criminal activities

are characteristic of this system.

About the Concept of Organized Crime:

Organized crime represents the consolidated criminal associations with

their own norms of behavior, hierarchical ladders and finances, it is the

most dangerous kind of crime that opposes and counteracts the lawful

actions of the state. This definition also embraces the totality of

mercenary and economic crimes committed with the help of corrupt government

officials, and law enforcement agents among them, who yielded to bribery

and other forms of corruption.

Organized Crime in Foreign Legislation:

In this context it is interesting to look at foreign experience in

dealing with organized crime, particularly, in the field of legislation.

The Italian criminal code states, for example, (article 416-2) that "the

association of a mafia kind is ranked as a criminal one when its members

practice the removal and intimidation of other persons in order to ensure a

cover-up and observe the law of silence and thus make it possible to commit

crimes, and win, directly or indirectly, posts allowing the management or

control of business activities, the distribution of concessions and permits

of all kinds, the signing of contracts, and communal services, as well as

making illegal profits or securing illegal privileges for themselves and

other persons." The American approach seems to be slightly different. While

the Italian Criminal Code lists features of organized crime, American

Federal Legislation (USC-par. 3781), though naming certain features of

organized crime, attributes concrete actions to it, namely, "unlawful

activities by members of a well-organized and disciplined association

supplying illegal commodities and offering illegal services, which include

but are not limited to, gambling, prostitution, usury, the spread of

narcotics, racket and other unlawful actions by such organizations."

Organized crime has broad opportunities for carrying out unlawful deeds but

the choice of these opportunities is mainly determined by the level of

expected profit, the minimum degree of possible risk of being caught and

exposed and the absence of concrete victims. It is this particular factor

that comes to the foreground in crimes related to narcotics whose users are

not interested in reporting to the police. The specific choice of a

"specialization" for this or another criminal group is a factor

guaranteeing it, to a large degree, a high level of conspiracy and a free

hand in committing crimes. Along with the previously mentioned

"specialization" of criminal associations there also exists what is termed

as an "internal specialization", i.e. the division of labor among criminal

association members.

Organized Crime and Drug Related Crime: Features in Common:

These features include:

- clearly defined organizational and managerial structures with a

hierarchy which ensures the protection of leaders from punishment since

their actions usually remain outside the confines of the criminal code;

- uniform norms of behavior and responsibility;

- planned unlawful activities and common goals aimed at making large

profits;

- a system aiming to neutralize all forms of legal control and

development of counter measures;

- common finances invested in various areas of criminal activities,

which are used for bribing the necessary people, providing material support

to members of criminal associations and financing crimes;

- monopolization and expansion of areas of criminal activity,

cooperation between criminal associations in various branches of a national

economy, the introduction of commodities and services to the black market,

exploitation of women through pornography, and prostitution;

- the use of legal methods to launder drug money.

In sum narcotics are a negative social phenomenon posing an extreme

danger to society. This danger is expressed in such ill-effects as the

destruction of people's health as a result of drug addiction, drug-related

crimes, the totality of which forms an independent crime branch (narco-

crime), and the ability to turn the most dangerous and well-organized part

of narco-crime into a variety of organized crime.

Par. 2. Tendencies of Development

Страницы: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11


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