NCJ Number
195891
Journal
Journal of Drug Issues Volume: 31 Issue: 4 Dated: Fall 2001 Pages: 989-1006
Editor(s)
Bruce Bullington
Date Published
2001
Length
18 pages
Annotation
This article rebuts the suspicion that the sharp increase in drug enforcement in Florida during 1984-1989, in which a reallocation of police resources reduced the effectiveness of property crime enforcement and increased the property crime rate, was due to the fact that it was not a time of normal circumstances.
Abstract
Because the relationship between drug enforcement and crimes against persons and property has been controversial, this paper revisits the empirical relationship between drug enforcement and Index I crimes (against persons), only it is now for a time period when aggregate drug enforcement measures and Index I arrest rates appeared, on the surface, to deny the trade-off. Cross-section data for Florida's 67 counties were obtained for 1994 through 1997, chosen in part because Florida had restructured its sentencing guidelines in 1993 to 1994. By controlling for other causal factors, this analysis provides additional empirical evidence about the potential trade-off between drug enforcement and Index I crime. Three tables provide definitions of the variables in the model, summary statistics for each year's data in levels, and summary statistics for the differenced data. This paper provides additional support and evidence that the opportunity cost of higher drug enforcement is increased Index I crime by considering a very different time period for Florida. It reiterates the idea due to consistent evidence that drug enforcement may promote crime by redirecting police resources away from Index I crime; this evidence is even more pertinent for efforts to curb drug use in light of some prevailing suspicions to the contrary. Tables, notes, and references