Drugs and Crime

The National Institute of Justice sponsors research on alcohol and other drugs in the context of juvenile and criminal justice systems to promote effective law enforcement, court, and corrections responses to illegal drug markets and criminal behavior related to illicit drug use. ​

NIJ's drugs and crime research informs crime reduction through several approaches:

• Epidemiology — to identify patterns between drugs, violence, and crime to inform communities and service providers.
• Prevention and Intervention — to identify and evaluate policies and programs (including treatment) to prevent, deter, or reduce drug-related crime.
• Drug Markets — identify the dynamics of drug production and distribution in domestic and border markets to inform law enforcement.
• Market Disruption — to identify and evaluate interdiction and other strategies to deter and disrupt drug markets through law enforcement and prosecution. 
• Forensics — to identify and assess methods, technologies, and strategies for drug recognition and detection, and support of medicolegal death investigation. 

On this page, find links to articles, awards, events, publications, and multimedia related to drugs and crime.