The Effectiveness of drug trafficking enforcement mechanisms. A case study of Marondera

Author

Nhikitiki, Praisegod

Title

The Effectiveness of drug trafficking enforcement mechanisms. A case study of Marondera

Abstract

This study investigates the effectiveness of anti-drug trafficking enforcement mechanisms in Marondera. Drug trafficking is not only peculiar to Zimbabwe but affects different countries globally. Despite the continuous war on drugs and drug trafficking, the number of drugs illegally smuggled across international and domestic borders is alarming. Therefore, this seeks to understand the surge of drug trafficking and assess the effectiveness of institutions, the criminal justice system and crime prevention methods. This study uses the mixed explanatory methodology to assess the research problem (drug trafficking). The researcher combines quantitative (QUANTI) and qualitative (quali) research methodologies, collected sequentially. The quantitative data was collected and analysed first through a questionnaire survey with 100 respondents (N=100). The questionnaire participants were chosen through simple random sampling from predetermined suburbs in Marondera urban. The questionnaire results led to follow-up qualitative interviews with 12 experts. These participants were selected through snowball sampling from the Ministry of Education, Sports, and Culture (MESC), Marondera Provincial Hospital (MPH) and the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP). The quantitative data were analysed through the Microsoft Excel Software package, while the interview data was analysed through thematic analysis. This study found that educational awareness of the effects of drugs and the repercussions of drug trafficking is fully understood by Marondera´s residents. However, the criminal justice system and rehabilitation were below standard with the citizens barely trusting the police´s impartiality in dealing with drug traffickers. Thus, there is a need for institutional reforms and refocus of priorities from establishing theoretically vibrant policies to applicability.

Date

June 2024

Publisher

BUSE

Keywords

Drug trafficking

Enforcement mechanisms

Marondera, Zimbabwe

Supervisor

Mr Gombarume