Policy problems within drug related crime
Shane Aherne-ec2sfa Write a critical review of an important policy statement or policy document. “To protect our communities from drug-related anti social and criminal behaviour through increasing resistance to drug misuse, building confidence to tackle local drugs problems and by stimulating support for drug prevention activity by people in different communities.” (Taken from the UK government’s drug prevention initiative of 2002, based upon and amended from its predecessor in 1998. This is a concise extract from the full initiative underlining the expansion of prohibition and government spending to counter existing problems) Within the UK, troubles caused by social behaviour and market failures are addressed by government policies, implemented to redress such imbalance for the good of society as a whole. The policy process is introduced to counter the defined ‘problems’ by initiating policies that attempt to find solutions to negative elements of social behaviour. Often problems lie with and occur through individuals and collective groupings but also many problems arise from inadequacies of government and social structures. ... Structural problems often form the catalyst for a social problem to expand and worsen, when in fact they aim to do the opposite. A critical review of any such policy needs to assess the problems, the approaches and whether they are successful or ineffective and for what reason. Policy in particular needs to aim to uphold the characteristics of legitimacy, expertise and consistency. I have chosen to concentrate on a major issue, currently causing unrest within the UK. The problem of drug misuse, and more specifically in this case, drug-related crime is of significant concern. ... Statistics show that the UK has the highest level of drug use throughout Europe, while running parallel to this is the fact that the UK also has the highest prison population per capita within Europe. The link between drug use and criminal activity is by no means a tedious one. Statistics indicate that half of property crime, an estimated two billion pounds a year, is committed to support illegal drug habits. ... The first point in conjunction with the policy is that it is obvious that an effective drug policy is required in the UK, and therefore policy makers are right to tackle this social problem. With the income from the illegal drug trade estimated at ten to twenty billion pounds a year, and drugs being the third largest commodity in the world, behind oil and arms, it is of paramount importance that the issue is addressed. Remembering that this is not just as a drug problem, but also as a problem of crime, any policy is due to come under high levels of scrutiny as it affects the whole of society, from those suffering health problems from drug misuse, to, consequently, their families and friends, as well as the victims of the numerous resulting crimes. ... To counter this, proposed spending is put at one point five billion pounds over the next three years to enforce drug laws detailed in the initiative. ... While policy is needed, it is not obvious from these figures whether this policy is cost effective or indeed effective enough to appease society. The use of cost-benefit analysis (CBA) could clarify the worthiness and effectiveness of the policy, though in this case, while it is easy to calculate taxation costs, and costs of crimes, placing a figure upon the benefits of a society free from the ills of drug misuse and resulting crimes is extremely difficult.