NCJ Number
185393
Journal
British Journal of Criminology Volume: 40 Issue: 4 Dated: Autumn 2000 Pages: 746-749
Editor(s)
Geoffrey Pearson
Date Published
2000
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This paper is taken from a larger report based on a secondary analysis of the demographic and sentencing characteristics of 1,715 traffickers caught smuggling drugs through London's Heathrow Airport between July 1991 and September 1997.
Abstract
The aims were to profile the sociodemographic characteristics of drug traffickers and to examine equity in their sentencing. To study the question of equity in sentencing, variables shown to be important in the sentencing literature and considered important by practitioners were entered into multiple regression models. These variables included age, drug (weight and estimated street value), gender, nationality, residency, plea, and role. Regression models were established looking at the various independent predictor variables and the strength of their predictive ability on the dependent variable (sentencing length in months). Results showed age, plea, role, nationality, and weight had a statistically significant predictive effect on sentencing of cannabis traffickers. Before 1994, gender, plea, role, residency, and estimated street value were statistically significant in predicting sentence length for cocaine traffickers. After the 1994 change in sentencing from the use of estimated street value to weight at 100 percent purity, age, plea, weight, and role were statistically significant predictive factors. Estimated street value and plea were statistically significant in the sentencing of heroin traffickers before the 1994 change. Plea had a statistically significant predictive effect on sentence length in all drug trafficking cases, with guilty pleas resulting in shorter average sentences compared to not guilty pleas. 3 references