NCJ Number
131125
Date Published
1990
Length
0 pages
Annotation
One of Columbia University's seminars on media and society, this video discusses the effect of the fourth amendment on fighting drugs and the effect of overcrowding in jails and courts on the effectiveness of the legal system in fighting drugs as part of the overall drug problem being explored in the 4-part video series, "Hard Drugs, Hard Choices."
Abstract
This video presents the Guardian Angels' viewpoint on dealing with drug dealers in communities versus the legal system ideal of protecting the civil rights of all elements of the population including drug dealers. It also presents the frustrated public's opinion of police ineffectiveness in stopping and controlling drug dealing versus the legal system's problem of overcrowding in jails and on court dockets. It addresses the conflict between the rules of evidence required by the legal system, the evidence known by the community, and the police departments' cost-efficient preference of spending time tracking and arresting the big drug dealers rather than the local small-time dealers. How a drug arrest is conducted, what constitutes the basis for such an arrest, and what parameters and difficulties constrict undercover drug officers are also addressed. Basic differences between watchful citizens and vigilantism are explored. (See NCJ 131123-131124, 131126)