NCJ Number
143247
Journal
State Peace Officers Journal Volume: 41 Issue: 4 Dated: (Winter 1992) Pages: 34-40
Date Published
1992
Length
7 pages
Annotation
Transportation facilities are focal points for the international movement of illegal drugs, and police who patrol these facilities play a key role in drug law enforcement and in the interdiction of drugs in transit.
Abstract
Dozens of countries are home to major drug producers or drug trafficking operations including Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Thailand, Burma, Mexico, Colombia, Peru, and Ecuador. Numerous groups -- Colombian drug cartels, the mafia, and black street gangs -- are involved in illegal drug trafficking. Despite the well-publicized U.S. "war on drugs," the production of opium poppies, coca, and marijuana is rising. However, governmental pressure has forced traffickers to rely more heavily on indirect trafficking routes, or trans- shipment. Officials involved in developing strategies to combat international drug trafficking must consider the complexities of the issue in deciding whether to invoke international law, increase military participation, or implement various law enforcement strategies: expressive enforcement, disablement of high-level distributors, city-wide street level drug enforcement, targeting dangerous offenders, or directing drug prevention efforts at children. Community policing is seen by this author as the best way to facilitate drug control by assisting community groups in the exercise of social control. Transportation police executives should encourage the involvement of communities that use their facilities in the fight against drug trafficking.