NCJ Number
183806
Date Published
February 2000
Length
12 pages
Annotation
This bulletin presents a set of possible drug law enforcement (DLE) "outcome" and "output" performance indicators for determining the effectiveness of enforcement efforts pertinent to laws against heroin use, possession, and trafficking.
Abstract
The indicators can all be constructed from data that are either available now or easily obtained in New South Wales and most other Australian States. For the purposes of this bulletin, it is assumed that the principal objectives of DLE heroin policy are to limit or reduce the crime problems associated with heroin, limit or reduce heroin-related problems of public disorder and amenity, and assist in limiting or reducing heroin-related public health problems. The proposed outcome indicators for heroin law enforcement pertain to reducing the crime associated with heroin, reducing heroin-related problems of public disorder and amenity, and reducing or limiting heroin-related public health problems. Output indicators for drug law enforcement focus on DLE strategies. Because the outputs of DLE are intended to exert a favorable influence on outcomes, output indicators should be chosen with regard to the strategies used by drug law enforcers. These pertain to demand-side and supply-side enforcement efforts. Two sections of this bulletin address output indicators for demand-side enforcement and output indicators for supply-side enforcement. The final section of the bulletin develops output indicators for policing heroin-related public amenity problems. The bulletin advises that in order to implement the proposed performance indicators, there must be a much greater exchange of data between health and police departments, so as to measure the effectiveness of police action in relation to harm minimization. Appended summary of proposed indicators, data sources, and data availability, and 41 references