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At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2026

Surveilled subjectivation: narratives of drug policing among people who use prohibited drugs in Sweden.

In Sweden, possession and personal use of drugs are criminalized since 1988, resulting in police work being directed towards minor drug offenses. Despite this, police and other authorities are encouraged to protect the health and wellbeing of people who use prohibited drugs (PWUPD). Knowledge is scarce on how this drug policy plays out in practice. This study therefore analyzes interviews with 20 PWUPD who visited harm reduction services and interacted with policing agents in Stockholm, Sweden. The analysis is based on the participants' narratives of drug policing, and it concerns how they produced themselves as subjects through relations between materiality and discourse. We utilize the concept of surveilled subjectivation to elucidate what the participants could do, what they knew and who they could be or become under drug policing. Four themes were identified illustrating the link between discourse and materiality in PWUPD's surveilled subjectivation: "Material aspects of surveillance"; "Resisting the 'drug abuser' identity"; "Fighting power with power"; and "Crossing boundaries and becoming-other". The participants described nonstop efforts to prevent their bodies, activities, belongings and environments from being enfolded by drug law enforcement, which otherwise would fuel even more surveillance. They therefore disassociated themselves from the "drug abuser" identity, and managed encounters with policing agents by keeping a low profile or acting compliantly. While the study highlights the skills and knowledges the participants deployed to navigate omnipresent drug policing, we conclude that their production of autonomous and empowered subjectivities would be facilitated if possession and use of drugs were no longer criminalized.

Humans↗
PubMed2005

The impact of a police drug crackdown on drug injectors' ability to practice harm reduction: a qualitative study.

This paper employs qualitative methods to explore the ramifications of a police drug crackdown on drug injectors' ability to practice harm reduction. Between August and December 2000, we conducted open-ended interviews with 40 illicit-drug-injecting residents of a New York City police precinct undergoing a crackdown. Interview topics included participants' experiences with police in the precinct and their drug use practices. Grounded theory methods were used to analyze resulting transcripts. Because place emerged as a salient analytic category, we also drew on elements of social geography to interpret results. The analysis suggests that particular crackdown tactics, notably frequent police searches of participants' bodies and elevated surveillance of the precinct's public spaces, reconfigured participants' experiences of their bodies and the public spaces comprising the precinct in ways that adversely affected their capacity to engage in harm reduction. Frequent police searches, for example, discouraged participants from carrying the injection equipment they needed to ensure that they could inject with a sterile syringe. Constant monitoring of local public spaces made it difficult for homeless women and men to inject safely. Simultaneously, participants expressed support for police actions that reduced public drug activity. Given these findings, we recommend the implementation of strategies, designed by partnerships of community groups and governmental and non-governmental organizations, which reduce public drug activity without imperiling injectors' health. Possible strategies include improving access to treatment and establishing safe injection spaces.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2006

Street policing, injecting drug use and harm reduction in a Russian city: a qualitative study of police perspectives.

We undertook a qualitative exploration of police perspectives on injecting drug use and needle and syringe access among injecting drug users (IDUs) in a Russian city which has witnessed explosive spread of HIV associated with drug injecting. Twenty-seven in-depth qualitative interviews were conducted in May 2002 with police officers of varying rank who reported having regular contact with IDUs. All interviews were tape-recorded, transcribed, translated and coded thematically. Accounts upheld an approach to policing which emphasised high street-based visibility and close surveillance of IDUs. IDUs were depicted as 'potential criminals' warranting a 'pre-emptive' approach to the prevention of drug-related crime. Street policing was described as a means of maintaining close surveillance leading to the official registration of persons suspected or proven to be users of illicit drugs. Such registration enabled further ongoing surveillance, including through stop and search procedures. While aware of drug users' reluctance to carry injecting equipment linked to their fears of detention or arrest, accounts suggested that the confiscation of previously used injecting equipment can constitute evidence in relation to drugs possession charges and that discovery of clean injecting equipment may be sufficient to raise suspicion and/or further investigation, including through stop and search or questioning. Our findings suggest an uneasy relationship between street policing and needle and syringe access, whereby policing strategies can undermine an HIV prevention ethos promoting needle and syringe accessibility among IDUs. We conclude that facilitating partnerships between policing agencies and HIV prevention initiatives are a critical feature of creating environments conducive for risk reduction.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

The involvement of the International Association of Airport and Seaport Police in drug abuse control.

The International Association of Airport and Seaport Police is an international organization comprised of law enforcement agencies. Its responsibility is to enforce criminal law at airports and seaports, ensuring that those facilities are not used for illicit activity. The Association was established in March 1970 to satisfy a long-standing need to improve coordination and communication among security agencies of the world's major commercial ports and facilities. Programmes have been developed and implemented that contribute to reducing the incidence of drug smuggling and related criminal activity. The Association stands ready to assist its members, as well as others involved in dealing with illicit drug activity.

Aviation↗
PubMed2005

Concealment of drugs by police detainees: lessons learned from adverse incidents and from 'routine' clinical practice.

This is a collaborative piece of work undertaken between the PCA and a Principal FME. The study is based on 16 cases of internal drug concealment drawn from 43 drug-related deaths in custody in England and Wales between 1997 and 2002. These data are supplemented by three case studies from a county force involving non-fatal drug concealment to illustrate practical custody issues. The majority of the 16 deaths were white (n = 12) and male (n = 13) with a mean age of 34 years. In half of the cases, the deceased was known or believed to have concealed drugs orally at the point of initial contact with police. In 4/16 cases, the individual first showed signs of medical distress in a public place, a further 4 collapsed on arrival at the police station and two more detainees were subsequently found collapsed in their cell. Drug toxicity was the most common cause of death (10/16). In 5 cases death was caused by airway obstruction by swallowed packages. Both cocaine (14/16) and cannabis (8/16) traces were found in post-mortem samples. The report emphasises the need for a safety first approach.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2004

Study highlights negative public health consequences of police crackdown on drug market.

A police crackdown in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside (DTES) displaced the drug scene to adjacent areas and may have exacerbated the health and social harms associated with injection drug use. This is the finding of a study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal by Evan Wood and his colleagues at the British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS.

British Columbia↗
PubMed1994

Management of drug misusers in police custody.

Police surgeons are increasingly being asked by the police to assess whether drug misusers held in police custody are fit to be detained and fit for interview. There has been little published on how they manage these questions, furthermore the management appears to vary in different parts of the country. This study sets out to determine the attitudes and practise of police surgeons to the management of drug misusers in police custody. A questionnaire was sent to the full members of the Association of Police Surgeons of Great Britain (APSGB) in March 1993. It was found that police surgeons are very aware of the increasing drug problem, indeed 76% reported that they were seeing an increasing number of drug misusers. However, they exhibit significantly negative attitudes to drug misusers and there is no common practice for prescribing controlled drugs. Fifty-two per cent said that on average they notified no drug misusers each month. Seventy-six per cent of respondents said they had received a hepatitis B immunization. The majority of respondents called for more training on drug problems. Therefore, there is an urgent need for specific guidelines for police surgeons on the management of drug misusers in police custody to address the arbitrary nature of the current practice.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

The treatment of drug misusers in police custody.

Large numbers of drug users appear in police stations, either as a result of drug offences or as offenders who also misuse drugs. Invariably such offenders are dealt with by police surgeons or forensic medical examiners as they are now called. In this paper a review is made of the guidelines for drug users to access medical help, and the nature of the medical service provided. Supporting material is also provided by the use of some case histories taken from one UK police station. An assessment is made of the obligations and requirements of police surgeons to notify selected drug users under the Notification Regulations and the authors also suggest a more detailed research programme which could be developed.

Forensic Medicine↗
PubMed2004

Characterizing perceived police violence: implications for public health.

Despite growing recognition of violence's health consequences and the World Health Organization's recent classification of police officers' excessive use of force as a form of violence, public health investigators have produced scant research characterizing police-perpetrated abuse. Using qualitative data from a study of a police drug crackdown in 2000 in 1 New York City police precinct, we explored 40 injection drug using and 25 non-drug using precinct residents' perceptions of and experiences with police-perpetrated abuse. Participants, particularly injection drug users and non-drug using men, reported police physical, psychological, and sexual violence and neglect; they often associated this abuse with crackdown-related tactics and perceived officer prejudice. We recommend that public health research address the prevalence, nature, and public health implications of police violence.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Drug misusers in police custody: a prospective survey.

Approximately 11% of individuals seen by forensic medical examiners in police custody in London are drug misusers. This prospective survey using an anonymized structured questionnaire attempted to define some of the characteristics of this selected group of drug misusers. The study was undertaken in Metropolitan Police Service stations (London, UK) within the area covered by Group IV Forensic Medical Examiners. One hundred and fifty consecutive drug misusers in police custody were assessed. Of these individuals 77% used heroin; 30% used both heroin and cocaine regularly; 72% were injecting drugs; 32% were being prescribed drugs (e.g. methadone) by general practitioners or drug agencies. Those individuals prescribed drugs spent a similar amount per day on illicit drugs as those who were not (100.30 pounds versus 106 pounds). Four per cent of individuals were HIV-positive; 25.7% were hepatitis-B positive. Only 9.7% were aware that prophylaxis for hepatitis-B was possible. Seventy-four per cent had served previous prison sentences and of those 82% had used class A controlled drugs whilst serving the sentence. It is concluded that drug misusers seen in police custody tend to be recidivists. It seems that some clear means of identifying and ensuring referral and attendance at an appropriate agency may be the only way to break the cycle of drug misuse, prison and further drug misuse in this highly (self) selected group of patients.

Adolescent↗