NCJ Number
125254
Date Published
1990
Length
115 pages
Annotation
The gravity of the use of drugs and related crime and violence manifests itself in disturbing statistics gathered by researchers; in choked court dockets, crowded prisons, and backlogged treatment centers; and in the voices of citizens and authorities who fear the deterioration of communities and, in some neighborhoods, the threat of losing a generation of youth to a life of drug abuse and crime.
Abstract
The crisis has evoked an extraordinary national response. In 1988, Congress passed the Anti-Drug Abuse Act which provides Federal financial assistance to State and local governments for increased drug abuse efforts. These funds are supporting a range of programs designed to strengthen drug enforcement and control serious violent crime. To ensure that the lessons of promising State and local programs are objectively documented and widely shared, the National Institute of Justice conducts independent evaluations each year of a selected number of State and local efforts and prepares an annual report summarizing the results. This first such report discusses the growing body of research that is increasing the understanding of drug abuse and trafficking, as well as the efforts to control them. The views of many criminal justice professionals, who daily face the realities of drugs and crime, are included in the report. Also included are the findings of numerous researchers who have devoted their energies to analyzing how public policies can work more effectively to control drugs and crime. Finally, the report discusses future directions for the NIJ in planning for research and evaluation that will help inform policy. 8 figures, 3 tables, 150 references.