law enforcement

Police-based diversion measures defined as measures involving “the police initiating and leading the intervention and the [people who use drugs] receiving a diversionary scheme to avoid a criminal record and any consequences that may result from continued formal contact with the criminal justice system”, have been evaluated in a narrative systematic review (Blais et al., 2022, 27 studies, US =17, Portugal = 5, Australia = 5) and found insufficient evidence to draw conclusionson:

• on drug use, drug accessibility, or changes in participants’ socioeconomic conditions.

However police-based interventions were found to be effective in preventing criminal offending or future contacts with the criminal justice system. The analysis also showed promising results for improving participants' health and diminishing social costs as well as costs associated with processing drug-related offenses. 

Findings from qualitative studies suggest that program acceptance by police officers, constructive intersectoral collaboration, clear eligibility criteria, and timely access to services seem to facilitate the implementation and delivery of police-based diversion measures.

The review solely focused on diversion measures that offered an alternative to a formal arrest (i.e., measures where arrest and criminal prosecution were only replaced by an administrative fine were not considered) and included

• the Commissions for the Dissuasion of Drug Addiction (CDDA) in Portugal where drug use is decriminalized, 
• police-based diversion programs implemented in jurisdictions where drug use is still a criminal offense, such as the Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) program, which creates a de facto decriminalization of drug use and is implemented in several US cities,
• police-based diversion programs rest on a mixture of de jure and de facto decriminalization implemented in Australia where the most common type of program is “cannabis cautioning”, where minor cannabis offenders are diverted away from the criminal justice system into education or treatment programs

Police-based diversion measures defined as measures involving “the police initiating and leading the intervention and the [people who use drugs] receiving a diversionary scheme to avoid a criminal record and any consequences that may result from continued formal contact with the criminal justice system”, have been evaluated in a narrative systematic review (Blais et al., 2022, 27 studies, US =17, Portugal = 5, Australia = 5) and were found to be effective in:

• preventing criminal offending or future contacts with the criminal justice system

The analysis also showed promising results for improving participants' health and diminishing social costs as well as costs associated with processing drug-related offenses. 

There was insufficient evidence to draw conclusions about the effect of police-based diversion measures on drug use, drug accessibility, or changes in participants’ socioeconomic conditions.

Findings from qualitative studies suggest that program acceptance by police officers, constructive intersectoral collaboration, clear eligibility criteria, and timely access to services seem to facilitate the implementation and delivery of police-based diversion measures.

The review solely focused on diversion measures that offered an alternative to a formal arrest (i.e., measures where arrest and criminal prosecution were only replaced by an administrative fine were not considered) and included

• the Commissions for the Dissuasion of Drug Addiction (CDDA) in Portugal where drug use is decriminalized, 
• police-based diversion programs implemented in jurisdictions where drug use is still a criminal offense, such as the Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) program, which creates a de facto decriminalization of drug use and is implemented in several US cities,
• police-based diversion programs rest on a mixture of de jure and de facto decriminalization implemented in Australia where the most common type of program is “cannabis cautioning”, where minor cannabis offenders are diverted away from the criminal justice system into education or treatment programs

Police interventions in licensed premises, with uniformed police officers visiting pubs two to three times a week was found in a narrative review (Calafat, Juan and Duch, 2009) to lead to:

• a 20 % reduction in recorded public disorders offences in the intervention area, compared with no reduction in the control area.

Police intervention in high-risk premises was found in a systematic review (Jones et al 2010) and in a narrative review (EMCDDA, 2012) to be a more effective strategy than ‘low level’ policing in:

• reducing alcohol-related incidents (narrative results only).

A narrative review (Calafat, Juan and Duch, 2009) found some evidence suggesting that pub-watching schemes have a significant desirable effect on:

• crime reduction (only narrative results).

Police interventions encompassing regular enforcement and visits by plain clothes officers aimed at promoting responsible alcohol service and at preventing driving while under the influence, and targeting servers in nightlife settings and licensed premises were found in a systematic review (Bolier et al 2011) to lead to:

• Bar tenders serving alcohol less often to pseudo-clients acting as though they were intoxicated (variation of results across three studies ranging from significant to not statistically significant results).

Police interventions aimed at reducing the movement of clients between bars, the overall alcohol consumption of clients and contain that consumption within safer settings was found to be effective in a systematic review (Ker and Chinnock, 2008) in:

• reducing assault rates: pre-intervention serious assault rate in the experimental area was 52 % higher than the rate in the control area. After intervention, the serious assault rate in the experimental area was 37 % lower than in the control area.

Street-level law enforcement approaches (including community-wide policing, problem-oriented policing, hot spots policing and standard model of policing) were found in a systematic review (EMCDDA 2017 - not published, based on Mazerolle et al., 2007) to be effective in:

• reducing drug offences (OR 1.53, 95% CI  0.75 to 3.13)
  • problem-oriented policing (OR 2.44, 95% CI  1.30 to 4.60)
  • community-wide policing (OR 1.85, 95% CI  1.53 to 2.22)
• reducing drug-related calls for service (OR 1.33, 95% CI  1.07 to 1.65)
  • problem-oriented policing (OR 1.44, 95% CI  1.16 to 1.77)

Evidence for the effectiveness of police intervention or increased enforcement of licensing laws in reducing alcohol-related incidents was found in two systematic reviews (Jones et al 2010; Bolier et al 2011) and in a narrative review (EMCDDA, 2012) to be inconclusive regarding:

• under-age sales (narrative results).
• sales to intoxicated clients (narrative results).  

Combined enforcement checks and management training programmes were found in one study included in a systematic review (Bolier et al 2011) to be effective in:

• reducing the service to under-age clients (relatively non-significant decrease in intervention group, from 46 % to 42 %).

A systematic review (Wilson et al 2019) found no evidence to support an association between prescription monitoring programmes (PMPs) and:

• reduced opioid prescribing and dispensing;
• reduced non-medical prescription opioid use.

There were limited but inconsistent evidence supporting an association between PMPs and reduced Scedule II opioid prescribing and dispensing and reduced multiple provider use. Further studies are needed to determine the effectiveness of PMPs.