ArticleHarm reduction journal2022
Challenges for drug checking services in Scotland: a qualitative exploration of police perceptions.
Article in Harm reduction journal, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers.
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Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed, 25 citations in OpenAlex.
- Interpol review of forensic drug chemistry, 2022-2025.Forensic science international. Synergy · 2026Review
- The implementation of safer drug consumption facilities in Scotland: a mixed methods needs assessment and feasibility study for the city of Edinburgh.Harm reduction journal · 2025Article
- Using RE-AIM Framework to Evaluate Recovery Opioid Overdose Team Plus: A Peer-Led Post-overdose Quick Response Team.Community mental health journal · 2025Article
- Using digital technology to reduce drug-related harms: a targeted service users' perspective of the Digital Lifelines Scotland programme.Harm reduction journal · 2024Article
- Implementation opportunities and challenges to piloting a community-based drug-checking intervention for sexual and gender minority men in Vancouver, Canada: a qualitative study.Harm reduction journal · 2024Article
- Beyond a spec: assessing heterogeneity in the unregulated opioid supply.Harm reduction journal · 2024Article
- Planning and implementing community-based drug checking services in Scotland: a qualitative exploration using the consolidated framework for implementation research.Substance abuse treatment, prevention, and policy · 2024Article
- 'It's not going to be a one size fits all': a qualitative exploration of the potential utility of three drug checking service models in Scotland.Harm reduction journal · 2023Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
11 authors at 7 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe impact of policing practices on the engagement of people who use drugs (PWUD) with harm reduction services is well evidenced. Although the police have traditionally taken an enforcement role in responding to drug use, it is increasingly clear that they can play an important part in multiagency delivery of harm reduction interventions. Despite this, there have been no studies exploring police officer perceptions of drug checking services (DCS), which provide analytical testing of client drug samples alongside harm reduction support and advice.
methodsSemi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 police officers to explore the policing and legal challenges which could be encountered in the delivery of DCS in Scotland.
resultsParticipants expressed general support for DCS and described this support as part of a wider organisational shift towards public health-oriented policing. Participants also discussed different potential approaches to the policing of areas surrounding DCS including: formal limits on police presence around the service and/or stop and search powers in relation to personal possession; the effective decriminalisation of personal possession within a specified boundary around the service; and informal agreements between local divisions and DCS outlining expected policing practices. Any formal limitation on the capacity of police officers to respond to community concerns was viewed as problematic and as having the potential to erode public confidence in policing. Participants also highlighted the potential for frontline officers to utilise discretion in ways which could undermine public health goals. Legislative change, or national strategic guidance from relevant stakeholders, was seen as a means of providing 'cover', enabling local divisions to support the operation of drug checking.
conclusionsDespite a small sample of participants, this study summarises key challenges to be addressed in the implementation and operation of DCS in Scotland, and more widely. The paper concludes with suggested opportunities to develop approaches to policing that can facilitate rather than impede implementation and operation of these services.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.