@article{Poothakool_2018, title={The Role of Law Enforcement in Community-Based Drug Treatment and its Impact on Crime Prevention}, volume={7}, url={https://www.lifescienceglobal.com/pms/index.php/ijcs/article/view/5677}, DOI={10.6000/1929-4409.2018.07.18}, abstractNote={<p class="04-abstract"><span class="normaltextrun">In line with trends in other countries the Royal Thai Police acknowledges the need for more community-oriented approaches which are responsive to local contexts. However, the development of such approaches to policing needs also to engage with responses to illicit drug use locally, which would include a wider definition of harm reduction and </span><span class="spellingerror">accommodate</span><span class="normaltextrun"> the work of public health partners their initiatives, such as needle-exchange.</span></p> <p class="04-abstract"><span class="normaltextrun">The present study examines the role of law enforcement officers in community-based drug treatment in the Chiang Mai region of the Upper North, through use of in-depth, qualitative interviews with key stakeholders, which included senior police, judges, public health managers, NGO workers and local community leaders.</span></p> <p class="04-abstract"><span class="normaltextrun">Most interviewees expressed concern that not enough was being done to address drug use in local communities, and barriers to police adopting a harm reduction approach locally included government-directed arrest quotas and lack of experience in working co-operatively with public health partners. Effective police involvement required coordinated policy-change and officer training to develop understanding and ways of working to support community-based drug treatment.</span></p>}, journal={International Journal of Criminology and Sociology}, author={Poothakool, Krisanaphong}, year={2018}, month={Oct.}, pages={250–259} }