NCJ Number
110589
Date Published
1988
Length
10 pages
Annotation
The Reagan administration supports the reduction of drug supply and demand, particularly as they impact youth; aggressive enforcement of child pornography laws; longer prison sentences for career criminals; capital punishment for heinous crimes; and reasonable public health measures to protect the public from acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS).
Abstract
The Reagan administration has helped reduce drug supplies by supporting the enacted increase in minimum sentences for drug traffickers and increasing efforts to interdict drugs being smuggled into the United States. The Reagan administration also advocates educational efforts to reduce the demand for drugs, particularly among juveniles. Because of the psychological and physical harm caused children exploited in child pornography, this administration proposes to toughen obscenity laws, especially those bearing upon child pornography, and is aggressively enforcing existing child pornography laws. Another focus of the Reagan administration is the career criminal, as the President has signed into law the Armed Career Criminal Act, which provides a 15-year mandatory prison sentence, with no parole, for recidivists and those who use a firearm in a crime. Capital punishment is advocated by the Reagan administration for particularly heinous crimes to promote justice and the value of human life. Other public safety issues of the administration are victim services and AIDS testing for Federal prisoners, immigrants, refugees, and legalization applicants.