ArticleThe International journal on drug policy2017
Assessing police officers' attitudes and legal knowledge on behaviors that impact HIV transmission among people who inject drugs.
Article in The International journal on drug policy, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers.
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Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed, 35 citations in OpenAlex.
- Police Knowledge, Attitudes, and Beliefs About Opioid Addiction Treatment and Harm Reduction: A Survey of Illinois Officers.Journal of drug issues · 2025Article
- Cost-effectiveness of a police education program on HIV and overdose among people who inject drugs in Tijuana, Mexico.Lancet regional health. Americas · 2024Article
- Unlocking deflection: The role of supervisor support in police officer willingness to refer people who inject drugs to harm reduction services.The International journal on drug policy · 2023Article
- Estimating the impact of a police education program on hepatitis C virus transmission and disease burden among people who inject drugs in Tijuana, Mexico: A dynamic modeling analysis.Addiction (Abingdon, England) · 2023Observational
- Police Stigma toward People with Opioid Use Disorder: A Study of Illinois Officers.Substance use & misuse · 2023Article
- Law enforcement and syringe services program implementation in rural counties in Kentucky: a qualitative exploration.Harm reduction journal · 2022Article
- Article
- The role of law enforcement officers in responding to the opioid epidemic: A qualitative assessment.Substance abuse · 2021Article
- Preferences and acceptability of law enforcement initiated referrals for people who inject drugs: a mixed methods analysis.Substance abuse treatment, prevention, and policy · 2020Article
- Addressing Police Occupational Safety During an Opioid Crisis: The Syringe Threat and Injury Correlates (STIC) Score.Journal of occupational and environmental medicine · 2020Article
- The Role of Gender in the Health and Human Rights Practices of Police: The SHIELD Study in Tijuana, Mexico.Health and human rights · 2019Article
- Interactive Versus Video-Based Training of Police to Communicate Syringe Legality to People Who Inject Drugs: The SHIELD Study, Mexico, 2015-2016.American journal of public health · 2019Article
- Factors associated with extrajudicial arrest for syringe possession: results of a department-wide survey of municipal police in Tijuana, Mexico.BMC international health and human rights · 2018Article
- The effect of public health-oriented drug law reform on HIV incidence in people who inject drugs in Tijuana, Mexico: an epidemic modelling study.The Lancet. Public health · 2018Article
- Cost of provision of opioid substitution therapy provision in Tijuana, Mexico.Harm reduction journal · 2018Article
- Predictors of injecting cessation among a cohort of people who inject drugs in Tijuana, Mexico.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2018Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
14 authors at 5 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundPolicing practices such as syringe confiscation and arrest can act as important social-structural drivers of HIV risk among people who inject drugs (PWID). However, police referral to treatment and other services may improve the health of PWID. Little is known about the role of modifiable attitudinal and knowledge factors in shaping officer behavior. Using baseline findings from a police education program (PEP), we assessed relationships between drug policy knowledge and attitudes towards public health interventions with self-reported syringe confiscation, drug arrest, and service referral among street-level police in Tijuana, Mexico.
methodsBetween February, 2015 and May, 2016 we surveyed 1319 police officers who reported syringe contact. The self-administered survey focused on attitudes, knowledge, and behaviors related to drug policy, public health, and occupational safety. We used ordinal logistic regression to model the odds of syringe confiscation, arrest for heroin possession, and referring PWID to health/social programs.
resultsThe sample was mostly male (87%) and had at least a high school education (80%). In the last six months, a minority reported always/sometimes confiscating syringes (49%), arresting someone for heroin possession (43%), and referring PWID to health and social programs (37%). Those reporting needlestick injuries (NSI) had 1.38 (95% CI: 1.02-1.87) higher odds of reporting syringe confiscation. Officers who had favorable views on laws that treat addiction as a public health issue had lower odds (aOR=0.78; 95% CI: 0.59-1.03) of arresting PWID. Those agreeing that it was their role to refer PWID to health and social programs had higher odds of reporting such referrals (aOR: 3.32, 95% CI: 2.52-4.37). Legal knowledge was not associated with these practices.
conclusionChanging drug policy and knowledge may be insufficient in shifting police behavior. Modifying officers' occupational risks and attitudes towards harm reduction interventions can facilitate efforts to align police practices with PWID health.
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