NCJ Number
84581
Date Published
1981
Length
111 pages
Annotation
Testimony by various criminal justice officials involved in countering narcotics trafficking examines ways in which the Federal Government can help in this area, with particular attention to sentencing practices and alternatives in narcotics cases.
Abstract
Testimony by the attorney general of Florida notes the extent of drug trafficking in that State and measures taken by the State to increase the risk associated with drug trafficking. The ease with which traffickers meet huge bail amounts and escape the country is advised to be a particular problem. A Federal bail statute relevant to the wealthy drug trafficker who can easily pay bail and then leave the jurisdiction is urged. Virginia's attorney general testifies on the growing problem of drug trafficking in Virginia because of its being an eastern seaboard State accessible to ships bringing cocaine and marijuana from Colombia. The use of Federal power to interdict drug traffic at its source and the use of the military to combat trafficking on the high seas is suggested. Other witnesses discuss the need for mandatory sentences that will increase the cost of conviction for drug trafficking. The Chairperson of the Parole Commission argues against a Federal bill that would provide for sentencing guidelines while virtually eliminating parole release.