USA Today: Drug laws keep our nation safe: Opposing view

[Chip (OP)]

http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2015/07/16/mandatory-minimum-sentencing-drug-trafficking-editorials-debates/30262641/

Drug laws keep our nation safe: Opposing view

Changes in federal sentencing system are underway, with no need for congressional action.

The federal criminal justice system is not “broken,” and Congress should not soften the penalties for drug trafficking.

In the mid-1980s, we endured a wave of violent crime that was largely caused by the crack cocaine epidemic. Congress responded by enacting mandatory minimum penalties for drug trafficking, and law enforcement began using those mandatory minimum sentences to dismantle drug trafficking organizations.

USA TODAY says that reforming prison sentencing can cut crime: Our view

By the early 1990s, we began to experience a steady, dramatic reduction in violent crime, including murders, rapes, robberies and assaults. As of 2013, violent crime rates were cut in half with similar reductions in property crime. That’s no coincidence. Mandatory minimum penalties are the cornerstone of federal efforts to infiltrate and dismantle drug trafficking organizations.

Those promoting the weakening of federal sentencing describe drug traffickers as “non-violent drug offenders.” Simply stated, this is a false label. Drug trafficking is necessarily violent from top to bottom. Street-level traffickers deal with a clientele desperate to obtain their product. Those further up the distribution chain have a compelling need to use violence to protect their stock, sometimes worth millions of dollars. Their violent acts aren’t pretty. They range from beheadings to drive-by shootings that often kill or maim innocent bystanders, including children.

Anybody who lives in a community plagued by drugs can tell you that violence and drug trafficking are inseparable. The pain of addiction, the crime generated, the lost productivity and the costs to our health care system are immeasurable.

Changes in the federal sentencing system are already underway, without the need for congressional action. More than 15,000 convicted drug traffickers will be released early from federal prison over the next two years due to recent amendments to the federal sentencing guidelines. Shouldn’t we proceed with greater caution before dismantling laws that have helped keep our nation safe?

Steve Cook is president of the National Association of Assistant U.S. Attorneys. (The views are his own and do not necessarily represent those of the Department of Justice.)