Proper guidelines of reducing firearms violence in Thai context

Abstract

This research of the topic as the proper guidelines of reducing firearms violence in Thai context aims at studying the analysis of situations, policies, and impacts of guns in Thailand and in the foreign countries. This study also targets at studying the problems and obstacles to violence reduction from using guns fitting Thai contexts. The guidelines from reducing firearms violence can result in the good measures and practices being appropriate with the current contexts in Thailand. Using a qualitative design, data were gathered via in-depth interviews with 59 key informants and two focus groups with 42 participants and 15 individuals currently serving sentences for offenses involving firearms were conducted to triangulate the findings and capture diverse perspectives on community safety. Data were processed using thematic analysis to identify systemic loopholes and sociopolitical drivers of gun-related crimes. Furthermore, several prominent projects in Thailand have been studied to extract best practices, such as Contemplative Education (Jitta-Panya), Alcohol-Free Village Projects, Anti-Street Racing and Brawl Prevention Projects and the ‘Five Precepts Village’ project.

This study found that violence related to firearms in Thailand has increased, causing many losses to innocent people. According to most problems as the obstacles to reducing the violence from using guns in Thailand, it was turned out that the main problems and obstacles against reducing the use of guns include legal measures, punishment guidelines, law enforcement, emotional control, education/knowledge, and insight. Therefore, it is necessary to search for effective measures to reduce violence related to firearms in society.

Concerning the measures for reducing violence from using guns fitting Thai contexts, it was found that the measures were divided into four main aspects, which are legal measures and law enforcement, the measures promoting the knowledge involving the violence from using guns, technological measures in following up the guns, and the measures in form of the projects/any campaigns involving the reduction on violence.