Criminology: Security, Policing and the State - Essay Example

According to the UKTA (United Kingdom Threat Assessment) report prepared by the Serious Organized Crime Agency (SOCA), drug trafficking, especially of Class A drugs, “poses the single greatest threat to the UK.” (SOCA, 2006:8). Dealing with drug trafficking is a priority for the police primarily due to economic reasons. The profits earned from drug trafficking are critical in the promotion and spread of other kinds of serious criminal activity, because it allows funds to be made available for criminal lifestyles to be pursued. Another reason why this area is one of top priority from the policing viewpoint is the easy availability of drugs throughout the UK, despite efforts that have been made to stop inflow of drugs at known entry points. The availability of Class A drugs poses a threat, especially for adolescents and young people because of its addictive nature and harmful effects, especially since youngsters may upgrade from lower grade drugs to the Class A drugs like ecstasy, cocaine and heroin. The incidence of use of lower grade drugs such as Cannibis is also increasing, with current estimates suggesting that 2 million people in the UK use cannibis regularly, 4 million occasionally and 6 million have tried it (www.bbc.co.uk). By getting people addicted to drugs, criminals can use those individuals for other criminal activities, making it a lucrative venture for them. Members of the public need to be reassured of police protection that such criminal activities in their neighborhoods will be prevented, and police action against drug trafficking is a priority to ensure the safety of neighborhoods. A reduction in drug trafficking is likely to bring about a reduction in other kinds of criminal behavior as well by sharply reducing the availability of funds, hence tackling drug trafficking is a priority for the police. ………...296 words Ans 2: Several legal provisions have been introduced to facilitate policing in drug trafficking activities. The Drug Trafficking Act of 1994 allows the police to convict a defendant of a drug trafficking offence and apply for a confiscation order when the defendant has benefited from the offence (Fortson, 2002). The Criminal Justice and Police Act of 2001 introduced several significant provisions to help the police cope with drug trafficking activities, such as restriction of their right to travel1 and the provision of additional powers of seizure of drugs and search of premises of suspected individuals,2 which have also been expanded further under the Criminal Justice Act of 2003. Another applicable provision of the law is the Criminal Attempts Act of 1981, which allows a conviction for the offence of harboring prohibited drugs, especially if the defendant has acted knowingly. The Government targeted the end of March 2008 to introduce neighborhood policing teams within every area in the UK. These policing groups are led by police sergeants, and include constables and police community support officers (PCSOs). There are currently more than 13,000 police constables and sergeants involved in community policing with 16,000 PCSOs being added to police teams. (www.police.homeoffice.gov.uk). These teams work in association with members of the local community to gather information about potential and existing drug trafficking activity in the neighborhoods. Undercover police surveillance is being used to track crime, especially in drug trafficking in Britain (Fijnaut and Marx, 1995). Covert policing takes place in the form of small surveillance teams that carry out investigations and surveillance activity in drug infested neighborhoods and on individuals suspected of drug related activity, especially the supply of Class A drugs. There is an increased degree of cooperation between police teams across the UK in exchanging information and data available on known drug suppliers and networks, to facilitate crackdowns. Police teams are also working with other agencies such as social workers and the Youth Justice Board, through the development of Intensive Supervision and Surveillance Programs to introduce community interventions for young offenders and deter them from drug related activity (Waters, 2007). …………………..347 words Ans 3: Some of the legislative provisions introduced to enhance power powers in combating the threat from organized crime have been resisted on the grounds that they constitute an unacceptable degree of intrusion into individual privacy. Covert surveillance activity by the police has given rise to controversy, because it constitutes an invasion into the privacy of individuals which is protected under the rights to privacy spelt out under Section 8 of the European Convention of Human Rights, which is also now applicable in the UK. Fijnaut and Marx (1995) point out that the benefits of covert policing have not been substantial enough to justify the intrusion into individual privacy. Additional powers that have been provided to the police for search and seizure have also been contested on grounds of being discriminatory. For example, this is the basis for objection to the increased powers of search and seizure that have been provided to police officer under the provisions of the Criminal Justice Act of 2003. One study found that police officers tend to use the power to search and seize more frequently than expected and particularly on blacks and Asians (Qureshi, 2007). A study was conducted by Sharp and Atherton (2007), which built upon the findings of a previous study that examined the encounters of young men from ethnic minority groups with the police. The findings in their study suggest that young people from minority groups who participated in the study are hostile to the police; they show a lack of trust and confidence in the police and mistrust authority because of the perception of unfairness and discriminatory treatment by the police. The readiness of the police to clamp down on suspected drug traffickers may sometimes result in the right of ordinary citizens being seriously impaired. Moreover, article 5 of the European Convention of Human Rights states that everyone has the “right to liberty and security of reason.”3 Every person is supposed to be informed in a language s/he knows of the reasons for the arrest and Article 6 of the ECHR states that every individual must be presumed to be innocent until proven guilty by law, all of which could be compromised by extended police powers. Another important issue that arises in this context is the question of interference in individual rights to freedom of use of recreational drugs and privacy, especially as mandated under Article 8 of the European Convention of Human Rights.4 ……………………………………….428 words 4. The need to control drug trafficking is important from the perspective of the police because it could help to curb other criminal activities that are funded from the proceeds of drug trafficking activity. These objectives are also important from the Governmental perspective, since the availability of funds from drug trafficking leads to the development of serious organized crime. The proliferation of criminal activity is a threat to the internal security and safety of the country’s citizens. Drug trafficking leads to mafia activity and poses a threat to the lives of ordinary citizens. The criminal nexus of drug lords and kingpins who are into serious organized crime are able to use the funds they derive from these activities to branch out into other crimes. Their attempts to funnel drugs into the UK result in other crimes such as bribing entry point officials, money laundering, tapping into financial information from banks and government sources and in several other ways, undermining the very structure and security of the UK. The creation of the criminal nexus among various groups also means that the law and order situation within the country breaks down and it is difficult to maintain internal peace and security. There may also be an increased amount of threat posed to the country by way of entry of elements that are unfriendly to the country’s national interests and may use money earned from drug trafficking to engage in acts of terrorism against the UK. Thus, in order to maintain law and order within the country’s borders and to protect the country’s external borders from unfriendly elements who may threaten the nation’s interests, it is vital that the elimination of drug trafficking activity is the major thrust of the police forces. This is also a priority area for members of the public due to the dangers of addiction posed to young people and the danger of criminal and rowdy behavior arising in users of drugs. The use of recreational drugs is becoming increasingly common, sometimes with tragic results. According to Charles Clark, the Home Secretary, “Ecstasy can and does kill unpredictably and there is no such thing as a safe dose (Brown, 2005).” Medical opinion has declared that the drug is not addictive, however it has been known to cause deaths due to fatal dehydration (Travis, 2006). According to one study (Boeri et al, 2004), people - especially adolescents and young people - use drugs in a variety of settings involving entertainment such as bars in inner city neighborhoods, rock concerts, private residences of entertainers and other categories of the public. One important conclusion that was established in this study was that in residential settings, there was a higher incidence of mixed use of ecstasy with other experimental drugs or higher risk drugs which are associated with more damaging and addictive behavior. A study on ecstasy use that was conducted by Pederson and Skrondal (1999) revealed that ecstasy is used by adolescents in conjunction with other illegal drugs in a poly drug use pattern. This poses risks and dangers to health and can lead to harmful effects such as addiction. Individuals addicted to drugs are unable to function as contributing members of society. Apart from the dangers posed to their health, addicted individuals become susceptible to criminal kingpins who may use them to engage in other criminal activities, in exchange for regular supplies of drugs. As a result, levels of criminal activity within the local neighborhoods may escalate, posing a threat to the safety and security of local residents. Seasoned criminals may go to great lengths to protect themselves from the risks that law enforcement efforts such as port entry checks and other measures pose. Hence these drug addicted individuals may be the perfect targets on whom these seasoned criminals are able to offload the risks and get their criminal activities executed without themselves being in any danger. They also gain the opportunity to extend their sphere of influence, gain more converts into a criminal lifestyle and thus extend their criminal infrastructure network over much wider spheres within the UK. There may also be losses of life resulting from misuse of drugs, therefore drug abuse is a serious public health issue. For example, in the case of the Class A drug Ecstasy, the short term adverse effects include nausea, hallucinations, chills and sweating, muscle cramping, high body temperature, cramps. An overdose results in high blood pressure, faintness or lack of consciousness and in some cases may cause heart failure or heat stroke and be fatal.5 The Home Office published a document titled Findings 190, which specifically examined issues of drug use among care leavers, in the process of making the transition to independent living. The average age of participants in the study was 18 years and it threw up some significant findings as follows (Ward et al, 2003): One third of the participants reported that they smoked cannibis every day, 10% of the participants reported that they had used cocaine in the past month while 15% reported that they had used ecstasy. This study also pointed out that young people leaving care may be more vulnerable to alcohol and drug abuse because they have faced adverse childhood experiences as a result of which they may have greater psychological and behavioral problems. As a result, the use of drugs had the potential to place them at the risk of getting addicted to the drugs, which could also lead to other harmful consequences such as homelessness or an involvement in crime, which in turn affects public safety and the ability of these young individuals to function as productive members of society. Parents of other young people are also deeply concerned about their children becoming addicted to drugs, due to peer influences or the free and easy availability of drugs at very low prices. It is only through effective police action that the problem can be curtailed and brought under control, so that it does not affect large sections of society, especially affecting innocent young children. Hence it is vital for the police to address this issue and cope effectively with it, so that the dangers to the public are averted. …………………………………………………………….1026 words References: * Brown, Colin, 2005. “Cameron on defensive on calls to downgrade ecstasy.” The Independent, London. [online] available at: http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_20051105/ai_n15761325 * Boeri, Miriam Williams, Sterk, Claire E and Elifson, Kirk W, 2004. “Rolling beyond raves: ecstasy use outside the rave setting.” Journal of Drug Issues, 34(4):831-860 * “Cannibis should remain Class C” BBC News report, April 3, 2008. Retrieved April 3, 2008 from: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7327702.stm * “Community Policing” Retrieved April 3, 2008 from: http://police.homeoffice.gov.uk/community-policing/neighbourhood-policing/?version=2 * Ecstasy information [online] available at: http://www.narconon.org/druginfo/ecstasy_x.html * Fortson Rudi, 2002 “Misuse of drugs and drug trafficking offences”, Sweet and Maxwell * Fijnaut, Cryil and Marx, Gary T (edn), 1995.“Undercover: police surveillance in comparative perspective”, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers * Pedersen, Willy and Skrondal, Anders, 1999. “Ecstasy and new patterns of drug use: a normal publication study.” Addiction, 94(11):1695-1707 * Qureshi, Faiza, 207. “The impact of extended police stop and search powers under the UK Criminal Justice Act 2003”, Policing, 20(3): 466 * Sharp, Douglas and Atherton, Susie, 2007. “To serve and protect? The experiences of policing in the community of young people from black and other minority groups”, The British Journal of Criminology, 47(5): 746-764 * SOCA, 2006/7: “The United Kingdom Threat Assessment” * Travis, Alan, 2006. “Downgrade Ecstasy, drug expert tells MP’s.” The Guardian. [online] available at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/drugs/Story/0,,1954762,00.html * Ward, Jenni, Henderson, Zoe and Pearson,.Geoffrey, 2003. “One problem among many: drug use among care leavers in transition to independent living”, Retrieved March 25, 2008 from: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs2/r190.pdf * Waters, Ian, 2007. “The policing of young offenders”, The British Journal of Criminology”, 47(4): 635-655 Read More