NCJ Number
89179
Date Published
1981
Length
33 pages
Annotation
This article presents the salient points of study assessing statistics on drug consumption, addiction, and police drug control efforts in West Germany between 1971 and 1976.
Abstract
Data were obtained by a survey of population samples and by a review of records from treatment institutions, criminal justice agencies, and the health administration. Surveyed groups included juveniles and young adults, known drug addicts, and military recruits. The effort yielded information on the dark field of drug abuse among youths, the programming and clientele of inpatient and outpatient treatment institutions, characteristics of the drug using population, incidence of drug-related deaths, and criminal processing of drug offenders. Characteristics of drug users are cited in terms of social background and family situation; education, peer groups, occupational training, and employment; residence and geographic mobility; the relationship of the drug used to the level of addiction; and means of obtaining resources for drugs and sustenance. The last category is broken down into customers, pushers, distributors, contact persons, theft offenders, fencing operators, burglars, extortionists, aggravated theft offenders, black marketeers, forgers, violent offenders, and perpetrators of homicide. Also summarized are police organization and information gathering efforts. Conclusions are that significant changes in the drug abuse patterns in West Germany are not to be expected and that police should prioritize enforcement efforts to concentrate on organized trafficking instead of on the consumers of illicit drugs. Also recommended is closer coordination of police and social service and treatment agencies. Tabular data and 24 footnotes are given.