We estimate the cost of drug-involved crime in Singapore by drug type in 2010 and 2015. Accordingly, we define drug-involved crimes as crimes committed by drug abusers with drug consumption offences in Drug Rehabilitation Centre (DRC) or Prison for 2010 and 2015, and drug abusers arrested in 2010 and 2015. Using largely primary data from Central Narcotics Bureau and the Singapore Prison, the aggregate figures of the cost of drug-involved crime are S1. 00 billion in 2010 and S1. 23 billion in 2015. This is equivalent to 0. 31% and 0. 30% of the country's gross domestic product (GDP) that year, and a per capita cost of S266 in 2010 and S316 in 2015. The largest portions of the cost were expended on public service costs and productivity losses. Together, these two items represent close to 90% of the total tangible costs of drug crime in Singapore. With no existing studies on Singapore, this paper is the first attempt to address this important research gap.
Quah et al. (Thu,) studied this question.