Justice Department is being more selective in bringing drug charges

Federal prosecutors are charging fewer defendants with drug crimes as part of an initiative to target more serious and violent offenders, a top Justice Department official said Monday.

Deputy Atty. Gen. Sally Yates said newly released statistics showed that federal prosecutors brought nearly 20% fewer drug cases in fiscal year 2015 than they did in fiscal 2012, the year before the Justice Department launched its “Smart on Crime Initiative,” which has sought to recalibrate how it uses its resources to combat narcotics crimes.

The drop amounts to nearly 5,000 fewer drug offenders entering the federal judicial system, Yates said.

“We were looking at targeted enforcement that would have the greatest public safety impact,” Yates told reporters. “That means bringing the most serious case against the most serious defendants and that means recognizing that not every case ought to be brought in federal court.”

The program was launched in August 2013 by then-Atty. Gen. Eric Holder, who said the department was hoping to save money and more fairly enforce drug laws by prioritizing the cases they bring. Holder and other top officials pushed the department to focus resources on big drug dealers and those involving violence while leaving lower-level offenders to state courts.

Yates said the data show that prosecutors are also charging fewer defendants with offenses that require they serve mandatory minimum sentences in prison. In fiscal 2015, she said, about 47% of all drug offenders faced a mandatory minimum sentence, down from 62% in 2012.

At the same time, she said, prosecutors were keeping an eye on those who used weapons in crimes, noting that such offenders comprised 17% of all drug defendants in 2015, up from 15% in 2012.

Yates said she was optimistic that Congress would pass legislation this year that would grant judges more flexibility in dealing with nonviolent, low-level drug offenders. Such a bill, sponsored by senators of both parties, cleared the Senate Judiciary Committee in October on a 15-5 vote.

@delwilber