Tracking violence in Thailand: the making of violent crime index

A crime index can be a practical tool that helps countries track violence and crime trends in different areas at different time periods. Developing a violence index for countries with limited experience and resources like Thailand can be a daunting task as the process requires defining the scope, determining the definitions and selecting indicators based on the availability of databases. While many developed countries have widely adopted crime severity indexes employing various methodologies, developing countries continue to struggle with the process of developing a practical index for crime and violence to help assess and monitor trends. Serving as a pilot project, the Thailand violent crime severity index (TVCI) includes violence categories based on legal criteria. A legal approach is also adopted in determining the severity of the crimes to ensure objectivity. The primary objective of this study is to propose a process for constructing a crime severity index that would be applicable to Thailand and other developing countries by adapting violence and crime severity index models from more developed nations as a new strategy for the prevention of violent crime.