NCJ Number
153197
Journal
British Journal of Criminology Volume: 34 Issue: 4 Dated: (Autumn 1994) Pages: 479-486
Date Published
1994
Length
8 pages
Annotation
Data from 573 persons sentenced for illegal drug importation through Heathrow and Gatwick Airports in London, England, between 1990 and 1992 formed the basis of an analysis of the characteristics of these offenders and the sentencing patterns for different types and values of drugs and offender nationalities and genders.
Abstract
The research was conducted in conjunction with an experimental project in which staff of the Middlesex Area Probation Service provided social inquiry reports in court proceedings concerning foreign drug couriers. Results revealed that those arrested came from 59 nationalities, including 185 British, 110 Nigerians, 36 Colombians, 25 Jamaicans, 21 Ghanaians, and 20 Pakistanis. Twenty-nine percent were female, and 64 percent were age 30 or over. Forty-six percent of the arrests involved cocaine, 31 percent involved marijuana, and 19 percent involved heroin. Eighty percent received custodial sentences. The average sentence were 6 years and 5 months for cocaine importation, 6 years and 1 month for heroin importation, and 1 year and 8 months for marijuana importation. Findings confirmed and expanded upon the drug courier profile first documented by Green in 1991 and further extend her analysis of sentencing practices by examining research findings on the relationship between street values and sentence length. Tables and 10 references (Author abstract modified)