Assessing police officers ’ attitudes and legal knowledge on behaviors that impact HIV transmission among people who inject drugs

Policing 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.

http://www.ijdp.org/article/S0955-3959(17)30287-6/fulltext?rss=yes

Source: International Journal of Drug Policy - October 10, 2017 Category: Addiction Authors: Javier A. Cepeda, Steffanie A. Strathdee, Jaime Arredondo, Maria L. Mittal, Teresita Rocha, Mario Morales, Erika Clairgue, Eliane Bustamante, Daniela Abramovitz, Irina Artamonova, Arnulfo Ba ñuelos, Thomas Kerr, Carlos L. Magis-Rodriguez, Leo Beletsky Tags: Research paper Source Type: research