Sorry, I should have mentioned that almost all incarceration these days for drugs is drug dealing. Drug possession is mainly a form of government rent-seeking. Hundred of thousands of cases of marijuana possession a year, but only about 600 cases per year of actual prison sentences for marijuana possession as the only charge. Plus, at the state level, drug offences account of about 14 or 15% of the prison population. 50% is violent crime, 20% property crime. Crucially, drug dealing feeds into violent crime, which is one of the reasons why drug dealing was treated so punitively in the past.
The best approach is the Scottish Public Health approach. It uses proactive policing as a vehicle for early intervention and then focuses everything on Youth Reform. There are a number of things that helped it to work- social workers, housing, the provision of youth clubs and diversion- but the key element was getting buy-in from employers in blue collar type work, to offer economic opportunities to demoralised and wayward youth.
But the key is to not back off or defund proactive policing- you simply need to change everything which happens from that initial point of contact with police onwards. The other thing which is worth considering is short sentences for gang grooming (up to 90 days, with contributing to delinquency the standard). Although the Norwegians have been quite cagey about publishing definitive figures, they have at least admitted that their reform model doesn't work anywhere near as well with gang involvement.
In general though you need to reduce sentencing for drug dealing- down to about 18 to 24 months as a disruption strategy (instead of 71 months as an average), with longer sentences for those at risk of escalating to violent behaviour. The reason for this are simple- by handing out harsh sentences for drug dealing in an unregulated market, you are effectively increasing the number of slots or speed of a conveyor belt of corruption. An unregulated market always gets filled.
90 days for gang grooming is apt, because it deprives drug dealers of around $90K of income for utilising kids as runners, spotters or cut-outs.
Dr. Loury and Fellow readers, I thought this essay from today by David French may be of interest:
"The Mistakes We Cannot Make Again
As crime rises, so will the temptation to crack down. Yet vengeance is not justice."
https://frenchpress.thedispatch.com/p/the-mistakes-we-cannot-make-again
Sorry, I should have mentioned that almost all incarceration these days for drugs is drug dealing. Drug possession is mainly a form of government rent-seeking. Hundred of thousands of cases of marijuana possession a year, but only about 600 cases per year of actual prison sentences for marijuana possession as the only charge. Plus, at the state level, drug offences account of about 14 or 15% of the prison population. 50% is violent crime, 20% property crime. Crucially, drug dealing feeds into violent crime, which is one of the reasons why drug dealing was treated so punitively in the past.
The best approach is the Scottish Public Health approach. It uses proactive policing as a vehicle for early intervention and then focuses everything on Youth Reform. There are a number of things that helped it to work- social workers, housing, the provision of youth clubs and diversion- but the key element was getting buy-in from employers in blue collar type work, to offer economic opportunities to demoralised and wayward youth.
But the key is to not back off or defund proactive policing- you simply need to change everything which happens from that initial point of contact with police onwards. The other thing which is worth considering is short sentences for gang grooming (up to 90 days, with contributing to delinquency the standard). Although the Norwegians have been quite cagey about publishing definitive figures, they have at least admitted that their reform model doesn't work anywhere near as well with gang involvement.
In general though you need to reduce sentencing for drug dealing- down to about 18 to 24 months as a disruption strategy (instead of 71 months as an average), with longer sentences for those at risk of escalating to violent behaviour. The reason for this are simple- by handing out harsh sentences for drug dealing in an unregulated market, you are effectively increasing the number of slots or speed of a conveyor belt of corruption. An unregulated market always gets filled.
90 days for gang grooming is apt, because it deprives drug dealers of around $90K of income for utilising kids as runners, spotters or cut-outs.