Police encounters among needle exchange clients in Baltimore: Drug law enforcement as a structural determinant of health

L. Beletsky, J. Cochrane, A.L. Sawyer, C. Serio-Chapman, M. Smelyanskaya, J. Han, N. Robinowitz and S.G. Sherman

American Journal of Public Health, 2015, vol. 105, issue 9, 1872-1879

Abstract: Objectives. We piloted a monitoring mechanism to document police encounters around programs targeting people who inject drugs (PWID), and assessed their demographic predictors at 2 Baltimore, Maryland, needle exchange program (NEP) sites. Methods. In a brief survey, 308 clients quantified, characterized, and sited recent police encounters. Multivariate linear regression determined encounter predictors, and we used geocoordinate maps to illustrate clusters. Results. Within the past 6 months, clients reported a median of 3 stops near NEP sites (interquartile range [IQR] = 0-7.5) and a median of 1 arrest in any location (IQR = 0-2). Three respondents reported police referral to the NEP. Being younger (P = .009), being male (P = .033), and making frequent NEP visits (P = .02) were associated with reported police stops. Among clients reporting arrest or citation for syringe possession, Whites were significantly less likely than non- Whites to report being en route to or from an NEP (P

Keywords: adult; demography; epidemiology; female; health care delivery; human; law enforcement; male; pilot study; police; preventive health service; risk factor; statistics and numerical data; substance abuse; United States, Adult; Baltimore; Demography; Female; Health Services Accessibility; Humans; Law Enforcement; Male; Needle-Exchange Programs; Pilot Projects; Police; Risk Factors; Substance Abuse, Intravenous (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:aph:ajpbhl:10.2105/ajph.2015.302681_6

DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2015.302681

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