Perspectives from law enforcement officers who respond to overdose calls for service and administer naloxone

Abstract

Background Many law enforcement agencies across the United States equip their officers with the life-saving drug naloxone to reverse the effects of an opioid overdose. Although officers can be effectively trained to administer naloxone, and hundreds of law enforcement agencies carry naloxone to reverse overdoses, little is known about what happens on scene during an overdose call for service from an officer’s perspective, including what officers perceive their duties and responsibilities to be as the incident evolves. Methods The qualitative study examined officers’ experiences with overdose response, their perceived roles, and what happens on scene before, during, and after an overdose incident. In-person interviews were conducted with 17 officers in four diverse law enforcement agencies in the United States between January and May 2020. Results Following an overdose, the officers described that overdose victims are required to go to a hospital or they are taken to jail. Officers also described their duties on scene during and after naloxone administration, including searching the belongings of the person who overdosed and seizing any drug paraphernalia. Conclusion These findings point to a pressing need for rethinking standard operating procedures for law enforcement in these situations so that the intentions of Good Samaritan Laws are upheld and people get the assistance they need without being deterred from asking for future help.

Public transport access to drug treatment before and during COVID-19: Implications for the opioid epidemic

“…Firstly, this requires an individual to see the event, which could be a function of context-specific outdoor/indoor usage and the population density of a region. Secondly, this requires the bystander to have a certain level of trust in law enforcement which also may have neighbourhood-level variations ( Mehta et al, 2022 , Smiley-McDonald et al, 2022 , Wagner et al, 2019 ). Without detailed data on opioid usage rates at the DA-level, we feel that this proxy is reasonable for capturing general trends in opioid usage across the city.…”

Lessons From the Frontlines of the Overdose Crisis: Exploring the Impact of Harm Reduction Policies on the Roles and Responsibilities of First Responders

“…Supporters of GSLs believe that the law can reduce fatalities by motivating PWUDs to request medical attention when they need it (Nguyen & Parker, 2018). However, lack of awareness (Banta-Green et al, 2013; Moallef & Hayashi, 2021), discretion during arrests (Smiley-McDonald et al, 2022), and distrust of police officers to uphold protections afforded under GSLs (van der Meulen & Chu, 2022) are barriers to its success.…”

“…While first responders provide essential care during substance-related events, their role in the overdose crisis and the impact of this crisis on their professional responsibilities is not well understood. However, there is growing evidence that responding to overdose calls may increase burnout and occupational role conflict (Pike et al, 2019; Smiley-McDonald et al, 2022; Zakimi et al, 2022). Research also suggests that the increased frequency of responding to overdoses can strain service delivery and place additional responsibilities on first responders (Pike et al, 2019).…”

“…Research also suggests that the increased frequency of responding to overdoses can strain service delivery and place additional responsibilities on first responders (Pike et al, 2019). Moreover, standard operating procedures and perceived law enforcement roles can conflict with public policies such as the Good Samaritan Law that attempt to provide legal protections for those seeking medical care (Smiley-McDonald et al, 2022). To understand the impacts of this crisis on first responders, more research is needed to identify how and in what ways occupational roles and responsibilities are adapted during overdose calls.…”

Post-overdose follow-up in the community with peer recovery specialists: The Lake Superior Diversion and Substance Use Response Team

“…In many jurisdictions, law enforcement respond to all poisoning events and sometimes are first to arrive on scene ( Pourtaher et al., 2022 ; Pozo, 2022 ). Research suggests law enforcement can effectively administer naloxone ( Fisher et al., 2016 ; Rando et al., 2015 ); however, there may also be drawbacks as police regularly confiscate personal belongings, force overdose survivors to go to the hospital, and make it more likely that an overdose event results in an arrest ( Lowder et al., 2020 ; Ray et al., 2022 ; Smiley-McDonald et al., 2022 ).…”