NCJ Number
165157
Date Published
1994
Length
50 pages
Annotation
This report presents findings related to the effectiveness of Utah's drug task forces in meeting their goals.
Abstract
Goals of the multijurisdictional drug task forces are to disrupt drug trafficking by arresting users and sellers; to make it more difficult and risky for sellers to operate; to reduce the amount of drugs on the street; to improve coordination among agencies; and to provide expertise and technology for dealing with the illegal drug trade. Data for this study were obtained from interviews with members of Utah's 13 task forces, arrest data reported by task forces to the Utah Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice, and arrest data from the Uniform Crime Reporting program. The primary data source is the interviews, although the arrest data provide valuable supplemental information. The evaluation findings are presented under the following topics: goals, targeting groups, targeting specific drugs, successful tactics, major accomplishments, cooperation with other agencies, future funding, task force improvement, recording task force activity, assessment of the Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice, whether the flow of drugs has been decreased by task forces, and task force differences. The report concludes that the task forces have had considerable success in achieving most of their goals; however, data do not show a significant reduction in the amount of drugs available or in the overall use of drugs. With the available data, it is impossible to determine what the level of drugs on the streets would be without the task forces. There is unanimous agreement that the task forces disrupt drug trafficking networks and force drug sellers to be more careful and covert. The report concludes that the benefits from the task forces are worth the expenditures to fund them. Arrests, convictions, seizures, and forfeitures have increased substantially in recent years. 15 tables, an interview schedule, and 7 references