| The Thai government employed a new drug policy in February 2001 by integrating efforts from several parties to fight against narcotic drugs. As a result of this drug policy, it appeared that many drug dealers and drug users were arrested all around the country, which indicates that the policy and its implementation seemed to be successful. However, there is no empirical evidence indicating whether it is effective or not. Thus, the main purpose of this study is to evaluate the drug policy and drug enforcement in Thailand by examining its impact of the drug crime, violent, and property crimes. Time series intervention analysis was employed to evaluate the drug control policy and drug enforcement by using the drug crime data collected by the police from 1995 to 2008. The findings revealed the significant reduction of the drug crime rate in all ten regions after the end of the drug policy implementation. However, no significant impact of the drug policy on the violent and property crimes was found. Policy implications were discussed.;KEYWORDS: Drug policy, Drug enforcement, Time series, Evaluation, Effectiveness. |
