Assignment on Criminal Justice - Essay Example

This paper focuses on the Drug Enforcement Administration (hereinafter, DEA) which works under the ambit of the Department of Justice and whose sole responsibility is the enforcement of drug control laws. It is the only federal law enforcement agency with drug control as the only mandate. Why was the DEA created in the first place? The DEA was created in 1973 when the realization came that effective drug control meant not only controlling the demand side, e.g.. criminalization of drug possession and rehabilitation of offenders, but also by controlling the supply.

In an effort to streamline the bureaucracy, the Federal Bureau of Narcotics (FBN) and the Bureau of Drug Abuse Control (BDAC) were abolished and the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs (BNDD), which was working under the Department of Justice, had enforcement responsibility over drug laws. The Office for Drug Abuse and Law Enforcement (ODALE) and Office of National Narcotic Intelligence (ONNI) were then created to assist in the enforcement of drug laws both at the national and local levels. . The FBN continued its mandate until a report by the Katzenbach Commission found that, among other things, the enforcement staff in drug control had to be increased and the bureaucracy streamlined.

Drug enforcement then became under the Department of Justice and the DEA was created. Lyman (2011), in describing the overall philosophy of the DEA describes it as follows: “to eliminate drugs as close to their sources as possible and to disrupt the drug trafficking system by identifying, arresting and prosecuting traffickers.” (page 329). Intelligence work is a big part of the tasks of DEA agents, who regularly monitor and conduct surveillance operations on the transportation of drugs into American shores.

There is intense pressure to kick the drug problem and resultant from this, “drug enforcement is commanding a growing share of local police, prosecution and correction resources.” (Kleiman and Smith, 1990: 69). A theory being propounded is that the concentration of police force in drug enforcement is causing a rise in the spate of crime and that is a constant criticism that the law enforcement sector of the country has to faced. Whilst the DEA is doing its utmost to ensure that it performs its duties efficiently and with judicious use of resources, it also cannot be denied that the drug cartels and the crime syndicates are getting wiser and more able to get around the law.

Hence, innovation is an important ingredient in enforcement of anti-drug laws. It must also be understood that policing supply of drugs and curbing demand cannot be seen as independent variables. They must work together. There is growing evidence to the effect that effective drug enforcement increases the price of drugs in the market and suppress use (Caulkins