rces to the system for probation. We need a separate law enforcement agency to oversee probationers and keep them from committing future offenses. Our system today needs to be stricter and more confined to deter future offenses. The next main point is drug abuse and the correlation between drug abuse and crime. Our authors say that “ drug use is a catalyst to crime because it makes young men, young women, and even children morally irresponsible.” (Bennett, 1996) For criminals, drugs cause their crimes to be more severe and easier to commit. Drugs add to the moral poverty in this country because they make every other social problem much worse. They increase child abuse, infant mortality, violent crime, prostitution, poverty, family disintegration, economic decay, and the spread of HIV. (Bennet, 1996) However, this problem with drugs is not unbeatable. During the 1980’s drug use declined dramatically. During this time, more resources were spent to teach kids to “Just say no.” and it worked. With a more liberal government, things took place to change the downward spiral of drug abuse in this country. There was a change in opinion about how much of our national resources should go to drug education. There was an 80% drop in funding to The Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP). A more liberal government replaced the Reagan and Bush era with investigations into the legalization of drugs. Attorney General Janet Reno felt that drug crimes were treated to harshly with mandatory sentences complaining that too many drug dealers are in prison. The number of drug offense prosecutions dropped 12% in just two years. The number of ships and aircraft devoted to drug interdiction were slashed by 50%. In addition, legislation passed more lenient laws allowing trucks to enter this country from the southwest without inspection. “Not a single pound of cocaine was confiscated from more than two million trucks that ...
