Statement of Stephen S Trott Before the House Select Committee on Narcotics Abuse and Control Concerning Implementation of the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986 on March 18, 1987

• NCJ Number: 104841
• Author(s): S S Trott
• Date Published: 1987
• Length: 14 pages
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/; NCJRS Photocopy Services
• Publication Type: Legislation/Policy Analysis
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

The implementation of the Federal Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986 will require increased resources and personnel for Organized Drug Enforcement Task Forces, the Justice Department's prosecution of drug cases, the U.S. Marshals Service, and the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

Abstract

The new legal resources provided in the Anti-Drug Abuse Act will significantly increase U.S. attorney caseloads. The financial resources authorized in the act will be used in 1987 to add 60 attorneys and 30 support staff. The Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces work in partnership with U.S. attorneys to identify, investigate, and prosecute drug traffickers. The act's resources have also been used to increase the number and activities of the task forces. Greater investigative and prosecutorial success by U.S. attorneys and the task forces will in turn increase the work of the U.S. Marshals Service, which is responsible for ensuring the safety of the judiciary and witnesses, executing warrants and court orders, managing seized assets, and managing prisoners awaiting sentencing. The new act has appropriated $17 million for the Marshals Service. Sentencing mandated by the act and the probable increase in the percentage of drug offense convictions will cause an increase in the prison population. Foreseeing this impact, the Congress has provided funding for two new Federal prisons. It remains to be seen whether the resources presently authorized will be sufficient to implement the act to its full extent.