The activities of authorised agencies such as police, customs, border services, and investigative bodies to enforce drug control laws and address criminal activities related to the production, trafficking, and distribution of illicit substances. These activities may include investigations, intelligence gathering, interdiction, and collaboration with national and international partners to disrupt organised crime networks. Law enforcement plays an important role in protecting public safety and maintaining the rule of law, and is most effective when coordinated with broader public health, prevention, treatment, and recovery efforts as part of a balanced and comprehensive response to substance use.
Law Enforcement
Law enforcement-led, pre-arrest diversion-to-treatment may reduce crime recidivism, incarceration, and overdose deaths: Program evaluation outcomes.
Abstract Introduction: Substance use disorder (SUD), overdose, and drug use-related crime continue to increase in the U.S. Pre-arrest diversion-to-treatment programs may decrease crime recidivism and overdose deaths. We assessed the impact...
Evaluating Seeking Safety for Women in Prison: A Randomized Controlled Trial
Abstract Objective: This study assessed the effectiveness of Seeking Safety on depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) with incarcerated women. Method: A randomized controlled trial ( N = 40) was used to analyze Seeking Safety...
Pre-Arrest Diversion-To-Treatment for Adults with Substance Use Disorder: Health Outcomes and Predictors of Program Completion.
Abstract Untreated addiction is often associated with criminal justice involvement. Pre-arrest diversion programs are increasingly popular, despite limited evidence. We implemented Madison Addiction Recovery Initiative (MARI), a law...
A multi-site evaluation of law enforcement deflection in the United States.
Many law enforcement and other first responder agencies have adopted deflection as a front-line response to the increasing number of drug overdoses and deaths in the United States over the past two decades. Deflection programs aim to...
Peer support on the “inside and outside”: building lives and reducing recidivism for people with mental illness returning from jail.
Abstract Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to gain understanding about the effectiveness of a forensic peer support program’s impact on reducing criminal recidivism. People with histories of mental illness returning to the community...
Peer-mentored community reentry reduces recidivism.
Abstract Most people released from incarceration in the criminal justice system return to prison within 3 years. To improve community reentry, national initiatives have promoted new and revitalized programming, including peer mentorship...
Alcohol Sachets an Endemic Problem in Sub-Saharan Africa: Do the Alcohol Sachet Bans in Africa Achieve the Policy Goals on Access and Availability
Abstract Background: Packaging alcohol in small quantities appears to be very popular in sub-Saharan African countries. This region represents itself amongst the largest consumer of easily accessible alcohol (WHO, 2018). Packaging and...
Closer to home: An analysis of the state and local impact of the Texas juvenile justice reforms.
Closer to Home: An Analysis of the State and Local Impact of the Texas Juvenile Justice Reforms, which draws on an unprecedented dataset of 1.3 million individual case records spanning eight years, shows youth incarcerated in state-run...
Police‐initiated diversion for youth to prevent future delinquent behavior: A systematic review.
Abstract This Campbell systematic review examines the effects police-initiated diversion programs on delinquent behavior, compared to traditional system processing. The review summarizes evidence from nineteen high-quality studies...
Overview of Juvenile Deflection in the United States: A State-by-State Comparison.
Introduction Over the past few decades, juvenile crime (i.e., “delinquency”), arrests and confinement have begun to decline—a trend that directly correlates with states and localities moving away from overly punitive, “tough on crime”...