Warrant checking practices by post-overdose outreach programs in Massachusetts: A mixed-methods study.

Autor: Tori ME; Boston Medical Center and Boston University School of Medicine, Grayken Center for Addiction, Clinical Addiction Research and Education Unit, Section of General Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine, 801 Massachusetts Ave, 2nd Floor, Boston, MA 02118, United States., Cummins E; Boston Medical Center and Boston University School of Medicine, Grayken Center for Addiction, Clinical Addiction Research and Education Unit, Section of General Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine, 801 Massachusetts Ave, 2nd Floor, Boston, MA 02118, United States., Beletsky L; Northeastern University School of Law and Bouvé College of Health Sciences, 416 Huntington Ave, Boston, MA 02115, United States; Health in Justice Action Lab, Northeastern University, 416 Huntington Ave, Boston, MA 02115, United States., Schoenberger SF; Boston Medical Center and Boston University School of Medicine, Grayken Center for Addiction, Clinical Addiction Research and Education Unit, Section of General Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine, 801 Massachusetts Ave, 2nd Floor, Boston, MA 02118, United States., Lambert AM; Boston Medical Center and Boston University School of Medicine, Grayken Center for Addiction, Clinical Addiction Research and Education Unit, Section of General Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine, 801 Massachusetts Ave, 2nd Floor, Boston, MA 02118, United States., Yan S; Boston Medical Center and Boston University School of Medicine, Grayken Center for Addiction, Clinical Addiction Research and Education Unit, Section of General Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine, 801 Massachusetts Ave, 2nd Floor, Boston, MA 02118, United States., Carroll JJ; Department of Sociology & Anthropology, North Carolina State University, 10 Current Drive, Raleigh, NC 27605, United States; Department of Medicine, Brown University 222 Richmond St. Providence, RI 02903, United States., Formica SW; Social Science Research and Evaluation, Inc., 21-C Cambridge St., Burlington, MA 01803, United States., Green TC; The Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University, Institute for Behavioral Health, 415 South Street MS 035, Waltham, MA 02453, United States., Apsler R; Social Science Research and Evaluation, Inc., 21-C Cambridge St., Burlington, MA 01803, United States., Xuan Z; Boston University School of Public Health, Department of Community Health Sciences, Crosstown Building - CT 454, 801 Massachusetts Ave, 4th Floor, Boston, MA 02118, United States., Walley AY; Boston Medical Center and Boston University School of Medicine, Grayken Center for Addiction, Clinical Addiction Research and Education Unit, Section of General Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine, 801 Massachusetts Ave, 2nd Floor, Boston, MA 02118, United States. Electronic address: Alexander.walley@bmc.org.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: The International journal on drug policy [Int J Drug Policy] 2022 Feb; Vol. 100, pp. 103483. Date of Electronic Publication: 2021 Oct 23.
DOI: 10.1016/j.drugpo.2021.103483
Abstrakt: Background: Post-overdose outreach programs engage survivors in harm reduction and treatment to prevent future overdoses. In Massachusetts, these emerging programs commonly deploy teams comprised of police and public health professionals based on 911 call information. Some teams use name/address data to conduct arrest warrant checks prior to outreach visits. We used mixed methods to understand approaches to outreach related to warrant checking, from the perspectives of police and public health outreach agencies and staff.
Methods: We analyzed a 2019 statewide survey of post-overdose outreach programs in Massachusetts to classify approaches to warrant checking and identify program and community factors associated with particular approaches. Ethnographic analysis of qualitative interviews conducted with outreach staff helped further contextualize outreach program practices related to warrants.
Results: A majority (57% - 79/138) of post-overdose outreach programs in Massachusetts conducted warrant checks prior to outreach. Among programs that checked warrants, we formulated a taxonomy of approaches to handling warrants: 1) performing outreach without addressing warrants (19.6% - 27/138), 2) delaying outreach until warrants are cleared (15.9% - 22/138), 3) arresting the survivor (11/138 - 8.0%), 4) taking a situational approach (10/138 - 7.2%), 5) not performing outreach (9/138 - 6.5%). Program characteristics and staff training did not vary across approaches. From police and public health outreach staff interviews (n = 38), we elicited four major themes: a) diverse motivations precede warrant checking, b) police officers feel tension between dual roles, c) warrants alter approaches to outreach, and d) teams leverage warrants in relationships. Findings from both analyses converged to demonstrate unintended consequences of warrant checking.
Conclusion: Checking warrants prior to post-overdose outreach visits can result in arrest, delayed outreach, and barriers to obtaining services for overdose survivors, which can undermine the goal of these programs to engage overdose survivors. With the public health imperative of engaging overdose survivors, programs should consider limiting warrant checking and police participation in field activities.
Competing Interests: Declarations of Interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: AYW is the medical director of overdose prevention programs at the Massachusetts Department of Public health and signs the statewide naloxone standing order, including multiple police and fire departments in Massachusetts.
(Copyright © 2021. Published by Elsevier B.V.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
Externí odkaz: