PDF(Pubmed)
Abstract：
Police frequently encounter people with opioid use disorder (OUD), having a profound effect on their risk environment and health outcomes. Officers retain significant discretionary authority in their response to these encounters. To explore the factors that underlie these decisions, we surveyed a sample of Illinois police officers. We administered an online survey to Illinois police departments using a random sampling strategy, stratified by agency size and the rurality of their service areas. Our final sample was 248 police officers from 27 departments. We surveyed officers\' beliefs about (1) influences and control over their decision making; (2) the approval of other actors in making referrals to treatment for addiction, and (3) the potential impacts of medication-assisted treatment (MAT). We analyzed the survey data using descriptive statistics and regression analyses. Most officers were highly influenced by the expectations of their supervisors when responding to subjects who appeared to have an OUD, and about half would take direction from addiction treatment providers. Police in urban departments perceived greater support for MAT and were more likely to believe MAT could reduce the need for future arrests. Our findings suggest ways police officers can be influenced to make discretionary decisions that improve the health outcomes of their encounters with people with OUD: (1) Supervisors should serve as champions to promote referrals to treatment for substance use disorders; (2) collaboration between law enforcement and community addiction treatment providers should be strengthened, and (3) MAT should be supported and expanded in rural areas.
摘要：
警察经常遇到患有阿片类药物使用障碍（OUD）的人，对他们的风险环境和健康结果产生深远影响。官员在应对这些遭遇时保留了重要的酌处权。为了探索这些决定背后的因素，我们调查了伊利诺伊州警察的样本。我们使用随机抽样策略对伊利诺伊州警察部门进行了在线调查，按机构规模和服务领域的普遍性进行分层。我们的最终样本是来自27个部门的248名警察。我们调查了官员的信念：（1）对他们决策的影响和控制；（2）其他行为者在转介成瘾治疗时的批准，（3）药物辅助治疗（MAT）的潜在影响。我们使用描述性统计和回归分析对调查数据进行了分析。大多数官员在回应似乎有OUD的受试者时，都受到上司期望的高度影响，大约一半的人会接受成瘾治疗提供者的指导。城市部门的警察认为对MAT的支持更大，并且更有可能相信MAT可以减少将来逮捕的需要。我们的研究结果表明，可以影响警察做出谨慎的决定，以改善与OUD患者相遇的健康结果：（1）主管应作为拥护者，以促进转诊治疗药物使用障碍；（2）应加强执法部门与社区成瘾治疗提供者之间的合作，（3）应在农村地区支持和扩大MAT。
