The impact of arrest and seizure on drug crime and harms: A systematic review
The Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC) has released a systematic review of the impact of supplier arrests and seizures on drug crime, drug use, drug price, drug purity, and drug harm outcomes.
Researchers from the University of Queensland and Queensland University of Technology were commissioned by the Serious and Organised Crime Research Laboratory to conduct a systematic review of the impact of law enforcement arrests and seizures on a range of drug-related outcomes.
The study used the Global Policing Database to identify published and unpublished studies between January 2004 and December 2018 that use experimental and quasi-experimental impact evaluations of policing interventions conducted since 1950.
Thirteen impact evaluation studies met the inclusion criteria. Only three of these studies contained sufficient data on effect sizes, meaning it was not possible to conduct a meta-analysis.
An evidence and gap map was constructed, showing that research to date relates primarily to drug harms, followed by drug crime and drug price, and that there are significant gaps in the impact evaluation literature.
The available research does not show a clear relationship between supplier arrest or seizures on drug use, drug price and drug purity.
This systematic review highlights the need for more research rigorously examining the impact of drug supplier arrest and seizures that can answer nuanced questions with implications for policing practice. The authors note there is evidence showing that proactive law enforcement initiatives that are place-focused and problem-focused are effective in reducing drug-related crime and harms.
