Drug Markets and Law Enforcement

Bibliographic Data

ID8400477
AuthorsNicholas Dorn (Manhattan Institute for Policy Research), Nigel South (0000-0001-5742-7257, Manhattan Institute for Policy Research)
Year1990
Volume30
Issue2
Pages171-188
Publication date1990-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueThe British Journal of Criminology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0007-0955 • E-ISSN: 1464-3529
PublisherOxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1093/oxfordjournals.bjc.a047988
OpenAlexW2980766948
LanguageEN
Citations received33
References cited4

This paper examines the market in illegal drugs, law enforcement counter-measures, and their interaction in Britain. Doubt is cast on the conventional view that the drug market is monopolistic, dominated by a few big suppliers. A diverse set of enterprises, best distinguished by their qualitative features rather than their size, is described. These enterprises are faced by law enforcement agencies that have at their disposal formidable legislation which provides for life imprisonment and confiscation of assets of drug distributors. The British post-war history of legislation against distributors has been one of increasingly punitive measures, and although there is no evidence that this has restricted the distribution networks, it may have contributed to the increasing professionahzation of the trade. The authors conclude that drug control policies would be more effective if less enthusiasm were expended in raising levels of penalties and more attention paid to the ways in which an irrepressible market may be shaped in more or less harmful forms by legislation and policing strategies

Criminology · Enforcement · Law enforcement · Library science · Political science · Sociology · Computer Science · Crime Patterns and Interventions · Crime, Illicit Activities, and Governance · Law · Wildlife Conservation and Criminology Analyses

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