Essay Example on Drug Investigations

Drug investigations by the relevant authorities are undertaken for two fundamental reasons. First, they are performed to arrest the drug dealers. Second, they are executed to seize assets that have been attained through illegal means by drug dealers. This essay provides a discussion of the methods used by law enforcers to obtain information about illegal drugs during the investigation and the parameters of warrantless search and evidence handling in such investigations. Furthermore, this research provides a discussion of the difference between the terms trafficking and smuggling in their reference to their relation to human trafficking investigations.

Methods That Law Enforcement Use to Obtain Information in Drug Investigations

Four primary ways are used to seek information about drug dealers in criminal investigations. The first method is physical surveillance, which is the oldest method used in criminal investigations (Gardner & Krouskup, 2016). Additionally, in this case, once the police suspect that a person is dealing drugs, they can monitor his/her physical movement until they attain solid evidence of the crime. Moreover, the second method used by law enforcers to track drug dealers is following the money trail. In this case, the drug trade is a highly lucrative venture, and it entails the transfer of a lot of funds from one person to another during drug transactions.

Moreover, the third method used to track drug criminals by law enforcement agencies is the interception of parcels. In this case, the police can randomly intercept and inspect parcels that they suspect could be having drugs (Obama, 2011). Additionally, during such interception exercises sniffer dogs are used to smell and detect illegal drugs in the posted parcels. Furthermore, the fourth method employed by the police to track down drug dealers entails the undertaking of undercover investigations. In this case, once the undercover police collect sufficient information about the crime, the drug dealers are apprehended and prosecuted.

Concept of Warrantless Searches and Proper Evidence Handling

Warrantless searches are prohibited by the Fourth Amendment of the constitution. Nevertheless, warrantless searches can be performed in the event that there is a Search Incident to a Lawful Arrest (SITA) (Ferdico, 2005). In this case, the police are permitted to conduct a warrantless search of an apprehended person. Moreover, the search is conducted in the arrested persons area of immediate control if there is concern about an officers safety and if it will protect the arrested person from escaping. Also, in criminal drug investigations, a SITA can be performed to prevent the criminal from influencing the destruction of evidence (Graves, 2013).

On the other hand, proper handling of evidence is important in drug investigations. This is because drug cases are solely reliant on the presentation of accurate evidence before a court for a criminal to be prosecuted (Birzer & Roberson, 2011). Additionally, three factors are maintained during the proper handling of evidence. First, the police officers should collect evidence in such a way that it does not compromise the nature of the attained evidence. Second, the police officers should handle the evidence in such a way that it does not compromise the nature of evidence. Lastly, the evidence should also be handled in a way that the constituents of the evidence are not altered.

Trafficking and Smuggling

Human trafficking is considered to be a contemporary-context form of slavery, which involves the employment of force, coercion as well as fraud (Lee, 2013). This is in order to obtain human resource for illegal undertakings like drug trafficking, prostitution, forced labor as well as commercial sexual exploitation among others (Cullen-DuPont, 2009). On the other hand, the term human smuggling characterizes the facilitation, transportation as well as illegal entry of people across an international border without a legal approval (Kyle & Koslowski, 2013). Additionally, human smuggling entails the violation of another countrys laws and regulations governing entry into their nation by use of deception or fraudulent documents.

Additionally, during human trafficking investigations, law enforcement personnel are focused on investigating people who have been forcefully transported to another location against their will to function as slaves, drug traffickers or sex workers (Winterdyk, Perrin, & Reichel, 2011). Nevertheless, when investigating cases of human smuggling, law enforcement personnel are chiefly focused on seeking, apprehending and deporting persons who have entered a different nation using illegal channels. Also, in such cases, the crime detectives identify the people that lack the necessary national documents such as the national identity and driving license cards in the nation (Siegel & Nelen, 2007). Moreover, such persons are apprehended and sent back to their respective nations.

Moreover, the drug enforcement agencies can issue victims of human trafficking with U-Visas. Additionally, the U-Visas are issued by the United States government as a form of nonimmigrant visa for victims of crimes like human trafficking (Brooks & Simpson, 2012). Furthermore, such are victims that have undergone tremendous mental as well as physical abuse but willing to help the police with the investigation as well as prosecution of the crime perpetrators. Also, victims of human trafficking or smuggling can also be issued with T-Visas. They are also forms of visas issued to human trafficking victims in the United States to enable them to work temporarily in the nation (Morehouse, 2009).

Additionally, U-Visas and T-Visas are issued to the crime victims and their immediate families only if they agree to assist the local authorities with the human trafficking or human smuggling crime investigations. Also, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) play a substantial role in helping the victims of human trafficking and smuggling (Spires, 2016). First, NGOs are immensely involved in rescuing the victims of human trafficking in different nations. Additionally, the NGOs also offers counseling services to the victims rescued from crimes of human trafficking and smuggling. Lastly, the NGOs cooperate with local crime enforcement agencies in providing information that could aid in the arrest of the criminals of human trafficking.

Conclusion

In conclusion, four ways are used to seek information about drug dealers in criminal investigations. These include physical surveillance, following of the money trail, interception of parcels and undertaking of undercover investigations. Furthermore, warrantless searches can be executed in the event of a Search Incident to a Lawful Arrest (SITA) to protect an arrested person from influencing the destruction of evidence. Also, human trafficking entails the employment of force, coercion as well as fraud to influence a person from perpetrating drug trafficking, prostitution, forced labor as well as commercial sexual exploitation. On the other hand, human smuggling entails the violation of another countrys laws and regulations governing entry into their nation by use of deception or fraudulent documents. Also, U-Visas and T-Visas are issued by the United States government as a form of nonimmigrant visa for victims of crimes like human trafficking and human smuggling. Ultimately, the NGOs are immensely involved in assisting victims of human trafficking them through providing them with counseling and assisting the law enforcement personnel in rescuing the human trafficking victims.

References

Birzer, M., & Roberson, C. (2011). Introduction to Criminal Investigation. Boca Raton: CRC Press.

Brooks, A., & Simpson, R. (2012). Emotions in Transmigration: Transformation, Movement, and Identity. New York: Springer.

Cullen-DuPont, K. (2009). Human Trafficking. New York: Infobase Publishing.

Ferdico, J. N. (2005). Criminal procedure for the criminal justice professional. Belmont: Thomson/Wadsworth.

Graves, M. W. (2013). Digital Archaeology: The Art and Science of Digital Forensics. Boston: Addison-Wesley.

Kyle, D., & Koslowski, R. (2013). Global Human Smuggling: Comparative Perspectives. Baltimore: JHU Press.

Lee, M. (2013). Human Trafficking. New York: Routledge.

Morehouse, C. (2009). Combating Human Trafficking: Policy Gaps and Hidden Political Agendas in the USA and Germany. Berlin: Springer Science & Business Media.

Obama, B. (2011). National Drug Control Strategy 2010. Collingdale: Diane Publishing.

Siegel, D., & Nelen, H. (2007). Organized Crime: Culture, Markets, and Policies. New York: Springer.

BIBLIOGRAPHY Spires, R. W. (2016). Preventing Human Trafficking: Education and NGOs in Thailand. New York: Routledge.

Winterdyk, J., Perrin, B., & Reichel, P. (2011). Human Trafficking: Exploring the International Nature, Concerns, and Complexities. Boca Raton: CRC Press.