NCJ Number
126723
Date Published
1990
Length
55 pages
Annotation
The US General Accounting Office (GAO) compared the anti-narcotics activities of the United Kingdom, Germany, and Italy for comparison with those in the United States in terms of policies, perspectives, and approaches in the areas of organization and infrastructure, law enforcement, demand reduction, and strategies for international drug control.
Abstract
While the United States is the largest consumer of illicit drugs, the US cocaine market is saturated, encouraging drug traffickers to look to other markets. This has resulted in a growing European use of cocaine and expectations of further growth with the abolition of internal European borders in 1992. In recent years, there has been an agreement among the international community to better coordinate anti-drug efforts under United Nations auspices. In terms of US versus European policy differences, the US is more willing to use military force and conditions military and economic assistance to other countries on evidence of cooperation in the war against drugs. The US, in contrast to European nations, interdicts drugs outside its borders, although international cooperations in this area is increasing. While the US has adopted a centralized approach to the management of its anti-narcotics program, European governments have not seen the necessity to follow suit. The American and various European criminal justice and law enforcement systems differ over definitions of illegal activity and penalties. The aspects of law enforcement discussed by the GAO include use of sting and undercover techniques, money laundering laws, and intelligence collecting and sharing. Both the US and its European allies use a combination of preventive education and addict treatment in their drug demand reduction strategies. However, the US supply reduction strategy focuses on law enforcement efforts delivered through bilateral agreements with source countries, while European countries generally work through multilateral organizations and emphasize economic aid to encourage supply reduction. 4 tables and 6 appendixes