Guiding officers to deflect citizens to treatment: an examination of police department policies in Illinois.
Guiding officers to deflect citizens to treatment: an examination of police department policies in Illinois.
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DOI：
10.1186/s40352-023-00207-y
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发表时间：
2023-02-08
期刊：
影响因子：
3.5
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中科院分区：
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美国过量危机促使警察部门制定政策，允许官员直接将个人转移到药物使用障碍治疗和其他服务，以减少累犯和随后的过量风险，以及将自愿出现在警察设施中的人转介给治疗。作为一种新的运作方式，一个依赖于官员的自由裁量权的成功实施，这种做法受益于通过书面指令，培训和监督支持的指导。然而，关于警察部门偏离政策的制定、内容和执行情况的资料很少，这妨碍了这一有希望的做法的实施和传播。我们分析了伊利诺伊州警察局偏转程序的16项政策。使用内容分析方法，我们编码的语言和术语，以及程序组件和程序的政策。我们的目的是研究这些政策是如何编写的，以及旨在指导官员工作的内容。我们发现这些政策和计划在长度、细节、术语和阅读水平上有显著差异。只有一项政策提到使用任何类型的成瘾治疗药物，许多政策使用了污名化的语言（例如，“滥用”和“上瘾”），很少有人提到“减少伤害”或在实践中的训练偏转。许多政策限制参与转向（即，没有未成年人，未执行的逮捕令，目前的戒断症状），关键的是，大多数政策允许警察根据自己的判断将人们排除在参与之外。我们建议警察部门考虑其政策的可读性，并减少参与偏转计划的障碍，以吸引更多需要药物使用障碍治疗的公民。由于有有限的研究警察政策一般，偏转领域是相对较新的，本研究提供了深入了解不同部门的政策，更具体地说，如何人员被指示操作偏转程序的内容。
The U.S. overdose crisis has motivated police departments to enact policies allowing officers to directly deflect individuals to substance use disorder treatment and other services shown to reduce recidivism and subsequent overdose risk, as well as refer people who voluntarily present at police facilities with a desire for treatment. As a new way of operating, and one that relies on an officer’s use of discretion for successful implementation, the practice benefits from guidance through written directives, training, and supervisory support. However, there is little information on the establishment, content, and execution of police department deflection policies, which hampers the implementation and dissemination of this promising practice. We analyzed 16 policies of Illinois police department deflection programs. Using content analysis methodology, we coded the policies for language and terminology, as well as program components and procedures. We aimed to examine how the policies were written, as well as the content intending to guide officers in their work. We found the policies and programs had notable differences in length, detail, terminology, and reading level. Only one policy mentioned the use of any type of addiction treatment medication, many used stigmatizing language (e.g., “abuse” and “addict”), and few mentioned “harm reduction” or training in the practice of deflection. Many policies restricted participation in deflection (i.e., no minors, outstanding warrants, current withdrawal symptoms), and critically, a majority of policies allowed police officers to exclude people from participation based on their own judgment. We recommend police departments consider the readability of their policies and reduce barriers to deflection program participation to engage a larger pool of citizens in need of substance use disorder treatment. Since there is limited research on police policies generally, and the field of deflection is relatively new, this study offers insight into the content of different department policies and more specifically, how officers are directed to operate deflection programs.