Posts Tagged ‘Drug Crimes’

Similar to the rest of the United States, the state of New York has a high incident rate of drug related crimes.  However, it has a slightly larger ratio of drug related crimes when compared to the rest of the continental US given the fact that Buffalo, Rochester, and New York City are all major drug smuggling hubs which means that the general consumption of drugs is also higher within the state.

Although most people quickly think of assault and theft as the two most common drug crimes, the largest connection between drug use and crime is actually driving under the influence and possession of drugs.  This is due to the fact that technically a drug crime is defined as any crime that a criminal faces a charge with while under the influence of drugs.

Shortly after, comes theft or larceny in which illicit drug users are 16 times more likely to be booked with over those who commit the same crimes while sober.  They are also 14 times more likely to be charged for public intoxication or drunkenness laws, and are nine times more likely to receive an assault charge.  This is due to the fact that drugs often impair the ability to judge properly and make good decisions.

In terms of violent crimes such as assault, murder, and manslaughter, 31% of wittiness’s reported that they believed the offender they saw was under the influence of a substance.  The most likely to test positive for drugs are males in New York although the city has a large problem within itself with about 82.1% of all female arrestees testing positive in 1998.  The most likely groups of offenders who test positive for drugs are prostitutes, larceny, and burglary.

Out of the same group, opiate was the main drug used within the streets of New York with about 75% of those who tested positive found to under the influence of opiates and another additional drug.  This data does not include juveniles who also contribute to a large amount of crime related offenses in the state of New York.

Drug crimes in New York are prosecuted over more than any other crime by far. If you are charged for a drugs offense it can either go down as a misdemeanour (which is less serious) or you can actually be convicted for the offense and receive a prison sentence. Drug crimes are taken very seriously by the courts in New York, and many people have received large sentences as a result of being prosecuted for a drug crime.

What governs how serious the action taken against a drug crime is?

A few different things can make harsher action get taken against you if you are caught committing a drug crime. The three things that can affect the severity of the case are:

1.    The type of drug you are caught with (e.g. cocaine will likely result in harsher action than being caught with marijuana).
2.    The quantity of drugs you are caught with (having more means getting into more trouble).
3.    Whether it seems you had the intention to sell the drugs (dealing results in much larger sentences than possession).

How is it proven that an individual was in possession of an illegal substance?

Most often, drug crimes involve the police reporting to have found drugs in an individual’s possession. They may also report to have witnessed a drug deal, and occasionally drug deals are also intercepted due to a police officer going undercover as a buyer.

Often individuals will claim the police are lying, but proving this can be problematic. Most drug cases boil down to it being your word against that of an officer of the law. Forensic evidence of drug traces about the prosecuted’s home or on their clothes might be used to aid the prosecution, and blood samples can also be taken (in the case of a prosecution against drug usage) as evidence against the defendant.

Drug usage and especially drug dealing are highly serious crimes in New York. In some cases, conviction for a drugs offense can even lead to a sentence resembling that of murder. Drug offenses are not something the state of New York takes lightly.