NCJ Number
146395
Date Published
1993
Length
56 pages
Annotation
This report provides a summary of the activities of multijurisdictional drug enforcement task forces during the period 1988-1992.
Abstract
The activities are described in terms of trends in arrests, removals, and seizures. Highlights from each State are reviewed. The number of task forces in the United States and territories increased steadily after 1988, to a peak of 1,001 in 1991, then decreased slightly in 1992. Arrests fluctuated from 1988 to 1991, then dropped markedly in 1992, to 20 percent below the 1988 total of 221,510. Asset seizures peaked in 1991 at $346,654,442, then dropped 20 percent in 1992. Cannabis was the primary drug removed in all five years. The amount removed during the period was almost 5 million kilograms--almost 3 million kilograms in 1992 alone. In 1990, drug removals decreased while arrests and seizures increased; in 1992, removals was the only activity that increased. The shifting trends are reflective of shifts of emphases in drug enforcement policy; in any case, it is clear that task forces have not eliminated the drug problem. 7 figures, 24 references, and 4 appendixes