Several drug policy researchers have noted that the concept of harm reduction could be applied to the field of drug policing in order to assess the negative consequences and potential benefits of policing in this area. However, the application of harm reduction principles to drug policing has only been realized to a limited extent in the current responses to drug use and markets. Accordingly, studies that empirically investigate already existing policing practices, which might be described as operating within such a harm reduction framework, are relatively scarce. In order to address this gap, this article provides an investigation of how policing of an open drug scene has been organized in Denmark since drug possession has been partly decriminalized, following the introduction of drug consumption rooms in Copenhagen. The policing of this open drug scene was investigated through document analysis, interviews, and observations with a patrolling police officer. The article argues that decriminalization has resulted in a shift in the “logics” of policing by enabling the production of an alternative “governable identity” for the drug-using subject, where people who use drugs could more readily be perceived as citizens with rights rather than just as offenders. Accordingly, in this new logic, the violence and victimization experienced by marginalized people who use drugs could more readily be identified as proper objects for police action. The study contributes to our knowledge of how the police can become potential allies rather than adversaries in harm reduction initiatives and broader public health concerns.

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Private security guards policing public space: Using soft power in place of legal authorityOnly a few studies have examined how private security guards operate in public spaces. In order to address this gap, this paper examines a public/private partnership of installing security guards on a public square in Aarhus, Denmark. This was a response to the presence of a group of homeless and marginalised alcohol and drug users. The policing of the public square was investigated through document analysis, interviews with different stakeholders and observations with a patrolling security guard. The case study illustrates that private security guards are able to exercise considerable control in public spaces, without having any legal authority over these spaces. Furthermore, by drawing on the analytical framework of governmentality studies, the case illustrates how the security guards were engaged in practices of 'soft power' in their policing of the public square. This constitutes a contribution to the growing literature that has started to survey the different powers and resources at the disposal of private security.

Recent years have seen trends within police to use different forms of “community policing” strategies that aim to foster closer relationships and trust with citizens, as well as an orientation toward “procedural justice” in law enforcement practices. Based on 25 interviews with police officers in two different police precincts in Denmark, this article explores the policing of ethnic minority youth in so-called “ghetto” areas from the perspectives of police officers. In doing this, we describe the specific challenges and strategies in implementing such policing methods in neighborhoods where some residents display low trust or even hostility toward the police. The article sheds light on the emotional, organizational, and practical challenges involved in doing community policing in marginalized neighborhoods and the way in which this shapes how community policing is being organized in practice.