Despite a growing research body, internationally there remains a dearth of
intelligence on the extent of drug-related violence and the relationship between
these two public health priorities. Health, criminal justice and other agencies in
contact with victims and perpetrators of drug-related violence are ideally placed to
collate and disseminate a wide range of information on levels and patterns of such
violence. This information is paramount to understanding which population groups
and communities are most at risk and targeting appropriate resources and
interventions where they are most needed. Public health professionals are ideally
placed to advocate for stronger data collection systems, collate data from a range of
sources and use such data to identify key issues, trends and appropriate target
groups.
Box 2: The role of