Effect of drug law enforcement on drug market violence: A systematic review

Werb, Dan; Rowell, Greg; Guyatt, Gordon; Kerr, Thomas; Montaner, Julio; Wood, Evan

doi:10.1016/j.drugpo.2011.02.002

Next »International Journal of Drug Policy
Volume 22, Issue 2 , Pages 87-94, March 2011

Effect of drug law enforcement on drug market violence: A systematic review

Dan Werb
- British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, Vancouver, Canada
- School of Population and Public Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
Greg Rowell
- Woodward Library and the Hospital Branch Libraries, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
Gordon Guyatt
- Department of Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada
Thomas Kerr
- British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, Vancouver, Canada
Julio Montaner
- British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, Vancouver, Canada
- Division of AIDS, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
Evan Wood
- British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, Vancouver, Canada
- Division of AIDS, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
- Corresponding author at: BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS; Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia, 608-1081 Burrard Street, Vancouver, B.C. V6Z 1Y6, Canada. Tel.: +1 604 806 9116; fax: +1 604 806 9044.

Received 15 September 2010; received in revised form 25 January 2011; accepted 3 February 2011. published online 11 March 2011.

Abstract

Violence is amongst the primary concerns of communities around the world and research has demonstrated links between violence and the illicit drug trade, particularly in urban settings. Given the growing emphasis on evidence-based policy-making, and the ongoing severe drug market violence in Mexico and other settings, we conducted a systematic review to examine the impacts of drug law enforcement on drug market violence. We conducted a systematic review using Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Specifically, we undertook a search of English language electronic databases (Academic Search Complete, PubMed, PsycINFO, EMBASE, Web of Science, Sociological Abstracts, Social Service Abstracts, PAIS International and Lexis-Nexis), the Internet (Google, Google Scholar), and article reference lists, from database inception to January 24, 2011. Overall, 15 studies were identified that evaluated the impact of drug law enforcement on drug market violence, including 11 (73%) longitudinal analyses using linear regression, 2 (13%) mathematical drug market models, and 2 (13%) qualitative studies. Fourteen (93%) studies reported an adverse impact of drug law enforcement on levels of violence. Ten of the 11 (91%) studies employing longitudinal qualitative analyses found a significant association between drug law enforcement and drug market violence. Our findings suggest that increasing drug law enforcement is unlikely to reduce drug market violence. Instead, the existing evidence base suggests that gun violence and high homicide rates may be an inevitable consequence of drug prohibition and that disrupting drug markets can paradoxically increase violence. In this context, and since drug prohibition has not meaningfully reduced drug supply, alternative regulatory models will be required if drug supply and drug market violence are to be meaningfully reduced.

Keywords: Drug dealing, Violence, Systematic review, Drug enforcement