NCJ Number
117888
Date Published
1989
Length
48 pages
Annotation
This report details recent trends in trafficking in crack cocaine and in responses by Federal, State, and local law enforcement agencies.
Abstract
The discussion emphasizes that crack cocaine trafficking and abuse have risen sharply in recent years and have become a serious problem for all law enforcement agencies. Although the problem has spread to rural and suburban areas, crack cocaine remains a mainly inner-city, urban phenomenon. However, people from all socioeconomic groups are now using crack. Large, interstate trafficking networks controlled by Jamaicans, Haitians, and black street gangs dominate the manufacture and distribution of crack. These gangs have several similarities to the organized crime families of the past. Drug Enforcement Administration crack teams now operate in 15 cities and will soon be established in 2 more. The cooperative relationships between Federal law enforcement agencies, DEA crack teams, and State and local task forces have been highly effective in targeting and immobilizing large-scale distributors and interstate trafficking networks. Included are details of the crack problem and enforcement efforts in specific geographic areas, list of the characteristics of specific gangs, figures, and tables. (Author abstract modified)