Police officer attitudes towards syringe services programming

Sightes, Emily; Ray, Bradley; Paquet, Staci Rising; Bailey, Katie; Huynh, Philip; Weintraut, Madison

doi:10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2019.107617

Cited by 10 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…It is possible that lived experience working in high drug use areas may alter officer perceptions of PWID, addiction, and harm reductions services differently than officers assigned to lower drug use areas. Police burnout may play an outsized role among police assigned to these areas, leading to more pessimistic attitudes than their counterparts in spaces with less prevalent drug use [63,64]. Policing in these areas may also present an elevated risk of occupational hazards such as needlestick injury, a factor associated with harmful police practices like syringe confiscation and negative attitudes toward harm reduction services such as SSP [64].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Police burnout may play an outsized role among police assigned to these areas, leading to more pessimistic attitudes than their counterparts in spaces with less prevalent drug use [63,64]. Policing in these areas may also present an elevated risk of occupational hazards such as needlestick injury, a factor associated with harmful police practices like syringe confiscation and negative attitudes toward harm reduction services such as SSP [64]. Alternatively, it could be the case that officers are specifically selected for assignment to high drug areas because of these existing characteristics and attitudes.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Municipal police support for harm reduction services in officer-led referrals of people who inject drugs in Tijuana, Mexico

et al. 2021

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Background Police constitute a structural determinant of health and HIV risk of people who inject drugs (PWID), and negative encounters with law enforcement present significant barriers to PWID access to harm reduction services. Conversely, police may facilitate access via officer-led referrals, potentiating prevention of HIV, overdose, and drug-related harms. We aimed to identify police characteristics associated with support for officer-led referrals to addiction treatment services and syringe service programs (SSP). We hypothesized that officers who believe harm reduction services are contradictory to policing priorities in terms of safety and crime reduction will be less likely to support police referrals. Methods Between January and June 2018, police officers (n = 305) in Tijuana, Mexico, completed self-administered surveys about referrals to harm reduction services during the 24-month follow-up visit as part of the SHIELD police training and longitudinal cohort study. Log-binomial regression was used to estimate adjusted prevalence ratios and model policing characteristics and attitudes related to officers’ support for including addiction treatment and SSP in referrals. Results Respondents were primarily male (89%), patrol officers (86%) with a median age of 38 years (IQR 33–43). Overall, 89% endorsed referral to addiction services, whereas 53% endorsed SSP as acceptable targets of referrals. Officers endorsing addiction services were less likely to be assigned to high drug use districts (adjusted prevalence ratio [APR] = 0.50, 95% CI 0.24, 1.08) and more likely to agree that methadone programs reduce crime (APR = 4.66, 95% CI 2.05, 9.18) than officers who did not support addiction services. Officers endorsing SSPs were younger (adjusted prevalence ratio [APR] = 0.96 95% CI 0.93, 0.98), less likely to be assigned to high drug use districts (APR = 0.50, 95% CI 0.29, 0.87), more likely to believe that methadone programs reduce crime (APR = 2.43, 95% CI 1.30, 4.55), and less likely to believe that SSPs increase risk of needlestick injury for police (APR = 0.44, 0.27, 0.71). Conclusions Beliefs related to the occupational impact of harm reduction services in terms of officer safety and crime reduction are associated with support for referral to related harm reduction services. Efforts to deflect PWID from carceral systems toward harm reduction by frontline police should include measures to improve officer knowledge and attitudes about harm reduction services as they relate to occupational safety and law enforcement priorities. Trial Registration: NCT02444403.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Municipal police support for harm reduction services in officer-led referrals of people who inject drugs in Tijuana, Mexico

et al. 2021

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“…However, the public health principles of harm reduction can be applied to law enforcement and policing [ 22 , 23 ]. Identifying effective means of communication, including having tailored in-service training with police officers have proven effective in obtaining buy-in from law enforcement [ 20 , 23 - 25 ]. There is evidence that law enforcement, when supportive of public health efforts, can facilitate participation by referring PWUD into the program [ 26 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“We're actually more of a likely ally than an unlikely ally”: relationships between syringe services programs and law enforcement

et al. 2021

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Background Syringe services programs provide sterile injection supplies and a range of health services (e.g., HIV and HEP-C testing, overdose prevention education, provision of naloxone) to a hard-to-reach population, including people who use drugs, aiming to prevent the transmission of infectious diseases. Methods We performed a qualitative needs assessment of existing syringe services programs in the state of Colorado in 2018–2019 to describe—their activities, needs, and barriers. Using a phenomenological approach, we performed semi-structured interviews with key program staff of syringe services programs (n = 11). All interviews were digitally recorded, transcribed, and validated. A data-driven iterative approach was used by researchers to develop a coding scheme to organize the data into major themes found across interviews. Memos were written to synthesize main themes. Results Nearly all the syringe program staff discussed their relationships with law enforcement at length. All syringe program staff viewed having a positive relationship with law enforcement as critical to the success of their program. Main factors that influence the quality of relationships between syringe services programs and law enforcement included: (1) alignment in agency culture, (2) support from law enforcement leadership, (3) police officers’ participation and compliance with the Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) program, which provides intensive case management for low-level drug offenders, and (4) implementation of the “Needle-Stick Prevention Law” and Drug Paraphernalia Law Exemption. All syringe program staff expressed a strong desire to have positive relationships with law enforcement and described how a collaborative working relationship was critical to the success of their programs. Conclusions Our findings reveal effective strategies to foster relationships between syringe services programs and law enforcement as well as key barriers to address. The need exists for both syringe services programs and law enforcement to devote time and resources to build a strong, positive partnership. Having such positive relationships with law enforcement has positive implications for syringe services program clients, including law enforcement being less likely to ticket persons for having used syringes, and encourage people who use drugs to seek services from syringe services programs, which can then lead them to other resources, such as housing, wound care, and substance use treatment programs.

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“…Negative interactions with law enforcement can deter PWID from using SSP services (Beletsky et al, 2015). One reason for law enforcement practices that undermine harm reduction programs could be lack of awareness on the part of law enforcement and perception that the harm reduction approaches are counterproductive (Beletsky, Macalino, & Burris, 2005;Sightes et al, 2019;Wodak & McLeod, 2008).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…There is also evidence that law enforcement, when supportive of public health efforts, can facilitate participation by referring PWID into the program (DeBeck et al, 2008). Identifying effective means of communication, including having tailored in-service training with police o cers have proven effective in obtaining buy-in from law enforcement (Sightes et at., 2019;Strike & Watson, 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

"We're Actually More of a Likely Ally than an Unlikely Ally": Relationships Between Syringe Services Programs and Law Enforcement

Franco

Lee-Winn

Brandspigel

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Syringe Services Programs (SSPs) provide sterile needles and a range of health services (e.g., HIV and HEP-C testing, overdose prevention education, provision of naloxone) to a hard-to-reach population, including people who inject drugs (PWID), aiming to prevent the transmission of infectious diseases. We performed a qualitative needs assessment of existing SSPs in the state of Colorado in 2018-2019 to describe the SSP activities, needs, and barriers. We performed semi-structured interviews with key program staff of SSPs (n=11). All interviews were digitally recorded, transcribed, and validated. Qualitative researchers coded each transcript and maintained coding consistency through coding statistics (Kappa coefficient > 0.80) between coders. Memos were written to synthesize main themes. Nearly all the SSPs discussed their relationships with law enforcement at length. All SSPs viewed having a positive relationship with law enforcement as critical to the success of their program. Main factors that influence the quality of relationships between SSPs and law enforcement included: 1) alignment in agency culture, 2) support from law enforcement leadership, 3) police officers’ participation and compliance with the Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) program, which provides intensive case management for low-level drug offenders, and 4) implementation of the “Needle-Stick Prevention Law” and Drug Paraphernalia Law Exemption. All SSPs expressed a strong desire to have positive relationships with law enforcement and described how a collaborative working relationship was critical to the success of their programs. Our findings suggest effective strategies to foster relationships between SSPs and law enforcement as well as key barriers to address.

show abstract

Police officer attitudes towards syringe services programming

Cited by 10 publications

References 15 publications

Municipal police support for harm reduction services in officer-led referrals of people who inject drugs in Tijuana, Mexico

Municipal police support for harm reduction services in officer-led referrals of people who inject drugs in Tijuana, Mexico

“We're actually more of a likely ally than an unlikely ally”: relationships between syringe services programs and law enforcement

"We're Actually More of a Likely Ally than an Unlikely Ally": Relationships Between Syringe Services Programs and Law Enforcement

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