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Published on December 13, 2007

 Levels of personal security and property security dropped last quarter, according to a report by the National Economic and Social Development Board.

Secretary-general Ampon Kitti-ampon said yesterday there were just under 70,000 robberies, sexual assaults, bashings, murders and cases of drug possession in the third quarter.

The 69,853 criminal acts recorded was 17-per-cent higher than the figure for the same quarter last year.

"The number of these cases has been rising," he said, citing information from a report on Thai society in the third quarter.

Offenders were getting younger, with more boys aged 15 to 18 committing crimes, he said.

"The main cause is that they hang out with friends who have abused drugs," he said.

The drug problem had worsened in recent years, from 55,472 cases in 2004 to 74,403 last year, he said.

"The number of first-time drug offenders has been growing by 19 per cent each year on average," he said.

New drug abusers sent to rehabilitation camps had also increased by 12 per cent a year, he said.

The government alone could not prevent the spread of drugs.

Families should play their role in discouraging drug abuse, he said.

The National Economic and Social Development Board says that youths aged 13 to 18 - or about 560,000 of the total population - are a high-risk group in regard to drug abuse.

Meanwhile, the number of youths drinking alcohol last year was nearly three times higher than the 2004 figure.

Vehicles, pubs, karaoke lounges, discotheques and industrial factories were found to be the main sources of noise pollution in Bangkok.

But on a brighter note, air pollution - or dust particles - had declined in Bangkok and other provinces.

 The Nation