CJB64
Law enforcement's role in a harm reduction regime
Author
|
Jonathan Caulkins and H. John Heinz |
Published
|
January 2002 |
Report Type
|
Crime and Justice Bulletin No. 64 |
Subject
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Diversion; Drugs and Drug Courts
|
Keywords
|
harm reduction, law enforcement, drug policy, drugs |
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Summary
Aim
This paper reviews a framework for thinking about harm reduction goals, and illustrates how some harm reduction perspectives are more receptive than others to a prominent law enforcement role.
Abstract
Law enforcement can play a valuable role within a harm reduction paradigm, but this possibility is often overlooked. This paper reviews a framework for thinking about harm reduction goals, and illustrates how some harm reduction perspectives are more receptive than others to a prominent law enforcement role. Five specific roles for law enforcement are then outlined: partnerships with treatment and other interventions, constraining supply, time-focused intervention early in an epidemic, reducing control costs and associated harms, and exploiting drug markets’ inherent adaptability.