Background: Drug related criminality is usually described by a number of drug related offences and offenders. This data in Slovakia is aggregated; referring to a total number of drug law offences without its detailed differentiation according to individual sections of the Criminal Code. Therefore, it does not reflect the structure of drug related criminality or the changes in behavior of drug law offenders/drug users from the point of the amount of possessed drugs; or the police activities. Drug seizures are used not only as an indirect indicators of drug use prevalence but also as an indicator of changes in drug market or police (law enforcement institutions) activities. Therefore our Project focuses on a detailed analysis of different types of drug seizures - small amount vs. larger amount of drugs seized. Aims: The aim of the detailed analysis was to get a more factual/objective picture of the drug scene and that is from the point of the amount of drugs possessed by the offender – one dose, up to three doses, up to a ten doses as defined for legal purposes (possession for personal use). Methodology used: Analysis of database provided in the format of MS Excel. Analysis was based on the division of seizures by the amount of drugs seized (number of doses for personal use) in one case - methodology of Forensic Institute. Sampling: Data provided covered 8 year period (2000-2007), the total of 15,374 seized samples of drugs and 10,567 seizure cases. Results: Drug seizures equallint the amount of one do se as defined for legal purposes following the seizures of up to three doses have the steepest growing curve. The proportion of small seizures, e.g. “possession for personal use” (up to ten doses as defined for legal purposes) vs. larger amount in the last years (since 2004) is 77 % vs. 23 %. We can, however, observe a shift towards seizures of smaller amount – while in 2002, seizures of up to ten doses represented 68 %, in 2007 it was already 77 % of all seizures. Conclusions: The data analysis can lead us to the assumption that the law enforcement agencies in Slovakia focus mainly on deterring individuals from drug use through prosecution and punishment of drug users. On the other hand, higher number of smaller seizures can also reflect a higher prevalence of drug use, thus higher possibility of police intervention.

Key words: evaluation of drug policy – drug seizures – indicator of police performance