Drugs – Justice and Society, Essay Example

The Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) is an agency under the United States Department of justice and was created in 1973 (Rabkin, 1999). The agency’s overall goals are to stop drug smuggling within the United States. The major efforts which the DEA cover are tracking down any drug related activity of any major organizations, nationally and internationally. The main focus of the DEA is to dismantle any efforts of organizations which deal with drug related crimes; this largely involves drug trafficking within the United States (“DEA’s Mobile Enforcement Teams”, 2001). It works under the law of the Controlled Substances Act and shares a jurisdiction with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (Drugs, Crime and the Justice System”, 1992). Additionally, the DEA is responsible for looking in to drug related crimes abroad in relation to the United States. The members of the team need to be able to identify illicit drugs from pharmaceutically manufactured drugs (State and Local Law Enforcement Training”, 1989). The DEA is trained to know the basic narcotics and their dangers. They deal with the National and International trading of drugs; this involves planning raids, undercover work and conspiracy investigations (“DEA’s Mobile Enforcement Teams”, 2001). They aim to control drug-related crimes.

The federal government had an agency within the Department of Justice which handled drug related crimes; the Federal Bureau of Narcotics. This was created in 1930 and its role was similar to that of the DEA, in stopping the manufacturing and sales of illegal drugs (Gaines & Miller, 2009). The FBN’s main priorities were focused on Cocaine and Heroin. Because of the rise in the drug trade industry and drug trafficking, several other agencies had been introduced in the system, yet the FBN is the most influential on the system of the DEA. After the Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act were passed in 1970, the FBN was replaced with the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs as its successor (Gaines & Miller, 2009). However, with all the drug related crimes on a high during the 70s, the government felt the need for a “superagency” to rise – thus resulting in the creation of the DEA.

References

Gaines, L.K., & Miller, R.L. (2009). Criminal Justice in Action, 5^th ed. Belmonte: Thomson Higher Education.

Drugs, Crime and the Justice System (1992). A National Report from the Bureau of Justice Statistics.

State and Local Law Enforcement Training (1989). Federal Law Enforcement Training Center. Glynco: Department of the Treasury.

DEA’s Mobile Enforcement Teams (2001). United States General Accounting Office.

Rabkin, N. (1999). Drug Control: DEAS Strategies and Operations in the 1990s. United States General Accounting Office.