NCJ Number
161676
Journal
American Lawyer Volume: 12 Issue: 2 Dated: (March 1990) Pages: 100-109
Date Published
1990
Length
10 pages
Annotation
This analysis of New York City's Tactical Narcotics Teams (TNT) concludes that this drug law enforcement effort has resulted in several benefits to the community despite the reality that most of its effects do not last long.
Abstract
TNT was a 2-year antidrug initiative that began in 1988 and cost $116 million. Extra police teams augmented by other city agencies and community involvement made more than 27,500 drug arrests citywide. However, the program has made it clear that street-level drug law enforcement does not make things better in the long term. At best, it only keeps matters from becoming worse. Nevertheless, interviews with more than 65 criminal justice personnel and community leaders indicate that street-level enforcement operations such as TNT have a place in efforts to combat drugs. It improves the neighborhood temporarily and takes some of the worst street-level dealers off the streets and puts them into State prisons for 3 to 6 years. Most importantly, it brings drug users into the system so they have some chance of receiving either drug treatment in prison or drug treatment as an alternative to prison. The interviews also indicate that TNT could become more effective through improved collaboration between police and the community. Case examples and photographs