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The Australian Federal Police Drug Harm Index: A New Methodology for Quantifying Success in Combating Drug Use
Author(s) -
McFadden Michael
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
australian journal of public administration
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.524
H-Index - 41
eISSN - 1467-8500
pISSN - 0313-6647
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-8500.2006.00505a.x
Subject(s) - drug , harm , harm reduction , index (typography) , liberian dollar , psychological intervention , medicine , environmental health , drug detection , business , pharmacology , psychiatry , public health , political science , finance , law , nursing , chemistry , chromatography , world wide web , computer science
The AFP Drug Harm Index was developed to provide a single measure that encapsulates the potential value to the Australian community of AFP drug seizures. The index represents the dollar value of harm that would have ensued had the seized drugs reached the community. In the five years from 1998–99 to 2002–2003, the AFP and its partners saved the Australian community approximately $3.1 billion in harm through its disruption of illicit drug importations. Because the Harm Index is based on the benefits associated with an estimated reduction in consumption, it can be generalised to measuring the benefits of other drug interventions.