NCJ Number
222025
Journal
European Journal of Criminology Volume: 5 Issue: 1 Dated: January 2008 Pages: 13-37
Date Published
January 2008
Length
25 pages
Annotation
This article reviews research that identifies members of ethnic minorities as responsible for selling a large proporation of the illegal drugs that are consumed in Europe.
Abstract
The authors conclude that the assumption of specific immigrant/ethnic groups being involved in certain kinds of drug trafficking holds true. However, various stages of the drug trade tend to be more diverse than reported, especially in countries with more recent immigrant populations. In this study, immigrants tended to dominate the importation of drugs, high-level wholesale, and the open retail/distribution level operations of non-native drug markets. Native populations serve as the ultimate consumer and dominate the retail sale of all drugs in private settings. Additionally, native populations dominate at all levels of the synthetic and cannabis drug markets from production through retail sale. Further, the study points to various influences that draw immigrant groups to the drug trade. Specifically noted are the immigrant’s opportunity and access to non-native drug supply as well as cultural differences in the view and/or perception of drug use. In this study, the authors sought to find relevance in the assumption that immigrant and ethnic minorities are responsible for selling a large proportion of the illegal drugs consumed in Europe and explored answers as to why this seemed to hold true. An examination of popular media stories and criminal justice statistics and intelligence analyses support this claim. However, in actuality, the authors found that the drug trade is ethnically diverse and that native populations dominate in certain segments. Footnotes, references, and author biographies