Drug Use And Its Effect On Crime - 1610 Words

Crime and drug use in Portugal has been a major issue, however after the government instated decriminalization, the number has decreased. Decriminalization appears to have had a slight positive effect on crime. â€Å"With its recategorization of low level drug possession as an administrative rather than a criminal offence, decriminalization inevitably produced a reduction in the number of people arrested and sent to criminal court for drug offences from over 14,000 in the year 2000, to around 5,500-6,000 per year once the policy had come into effect† (tdpf). There has not been a great surge in contact between drug offenders and the Portuguese police after decriminalization. The number of offenders has had the highest values since 2002. Continues was the trend manifested through the decade of the predominance of presumed offenders in the possession of cannabis and the increased offenders in the possession of cocaine. Now regarding heroin, it did have a downward trend in the fir st half of the decade, which then peaked in 2009, following another decrease in the numbers of offenders. The value that was taken in 2012 was the lowest it has ever been since 2001. Concerning the sanctions applied in these convictions, mostly related with trafficking crimes, such as occurred in 2004 and contrary to previous years, these convictions involved mainly suspended prison (48%) instead of effective prison (31%). To refer specially since 2009, the increase of convicted only sentenced with anShow MoreRelatedThe Association Between Drug Use And Crime Cycle1487 Words   |  6 Pages The Association Between Drug Use and Crime Cycle Christina Herring Columbia College Abstract Since some of our states have made marijuana legal, the crime cycle in those states is becoming a topic of interest all across America. For what once was a crime, the act of making it legal cuts the amount of crime automatically. 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