Letter of Support from Coalition of Police Supporting Harm Reduction

It is interesting to read through the many letters that have come in from all over showing support for the volunteers currently facing misdemeanor charges in Modesto. One letter in particular that stands out as relevant to the situation here in Stanislaus County comes from harm reduction expert and 17-year police veteran Gregory Denham, an ally from Australia.

Copied below is the letter he submitted to the Stanislaus District Attorney's Office in support of Brian Robinson and Kristy Tribuzio. Read it below - pretty much says it all. And for those who may argue that he is from Australia and it doesn't apply here, our answer is that substance use, public health and safety, and harm reduction principles know no boundaries. While environments and certain nuances may be unique, widespread patterns and implications remain rather consistent whether we are talking about Europe, Mexico or Atlanta, Georgia. Read on:

Gregory Denham
Law Enforcement and Harm Reduction Advisor
Nossal Institute for Global Health
Monash University
Melbourne
Victoria 3000
Australia  

To Whom It May Concern:

My name is Greg Denham and I am a former state police officer having served in an operational capacity for 17 years in state police forces in Australia. Over the past ten years or so I have been working both locally and internationally in promoting police/health partnerships with a particular focus on the prevention of the spread of HIV and other blood borne viruses.

As you would be aware, there has been a growing health emergency for nearly 30 years that has required urgent action to halt the spread of AIDS. None more evident is the USA where there are approximately 50,000 new HIV cases each year, thousands of new Hepatitis C cases also, many attributed to sharing contaminated injecting equipment.

Police are now recognised as an integral part of the approach to prevent the transmission of these potentially deadly diseases, the police role cannot be emphasised enough. 

The most effective police approach has been found to give to support to programs that seek to reduce the risk of the spread of HIV - to both the individual and the community (including police). These programs, often termed 'harm reduction', include needle and syringe programs, methadone treatment, and condom distribution. Numerous police agencies throughout the world (including in the USA) have initiated both formal and informal policies and practices that support these harm reduction approaches. They are well documented in the literature and have been successfully evaluated.

In policing terms, it is essential that police become aware of their important role in this issue. Harm reduction cannot, and will not, work without the active participation of police. Further, police must be supported at the government level in the adoption of these supportive policies and practices and advocacy must be conducted with the communities where these programs operate.

Police and government must understand that harm reduction programs do not facilitate drug use, increase the number of people using drugs, entice drug users into a community, nor increase crime. Research in fact shows the opposite; needle and syringe programs are an effective bridge to treatment and improve the amenity of the local area through cleaning up of discarded syringes and other paraphernalia.

To aid the development of more effective approaches by police and explain their role in policing terms, I have initiated the Coalition of Police Supporting Harm Reduction (COPS HR). This network provides training, guidance and advice to police officers throughout the world in their role in this important health issue.

I would be more than happy to elaborate on these points and am available to discuss these issues further at any time.

Best Regards,

Greg Denham
Law Enforcement and Harm Reduction Advisor
Nossal Institute for Global Health
Monash University

October 15th 2009

Letters to the DA: Excerpts Worth Reading

At one point during the pre-trial process the volunteers and their attornies actually thought the DA was going to deal. We of course know now that was never the intention. During a very small window of time in October, letters were requested of supporters to be given to the DA. In a matter of days, over 40 letters were sent to the DA. It was a fabulous show of support! Letters came from within the community, from other SEPs, from health professionals, experts, college professors, Program Directors, from Modesto to Sacramento, Washington DC to Australia. People everywhere are paying attention. Check out some of these excerpts:

• Robert Heimer, Professor of Epidemiology and Public Health at the Yale School of Medicine and the Director of the Interdisciplinary Research Methods Core at the Yale Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS - "Our research studies have demonstrated clear benefits from providing access to sterile syringes, safe disposal of syringes, and direct services and/or referrals for substance abuse treatment, wound care, overdose prevention, HIV testing and follow-up, and other medical and social services. We know that, regardless of whether syringe exchange programs are authorized or not, they provide cost-effective, evidence-based interventions to some of the most marginalized people in the country, for pennies on the public service dollar."
• Thomas A. Helme, Community Member, Stanislaus County Citizen - "In the short 27 years that I have lived I have had the unfortunate experience of having several close family members and friends addicted to drugs and used syringes on a regular basis. A few years ago my uncle was hospitalized with a staff-infection in his heart that was caused by using a dirty needle. Doctors said that he came very close to dying, but luckily pulled through."
• Hilary McQuie, California Director of the Harm Reduction Coalition - "It is puzzling to me that 20 years later, people who are volunteering their time and energy are still getting arrested for helping the most disenfranchised, stigmatized part of our community, those in the throes of drug addiction."
• Dallas Blanchard, Director of the Fresno Needle Exchange - "And finally after 14 years of trying to save lives by doing an underground unauthorized Needle Exchange the Fresno County Board of Supervisors voted to approve our program last year. It is very hard to allow people to die from AIDS and HEP C when there is a cure... harm reduction through education and prevention which is offered during needle exchange services. This is what (they) were doing, working towards authorization and trying to save lives."
• Dr. James M. Cook, Professor of History, CSU, Stanislaus - "The problems associated with dirty needle use among drug users is something we should all be concerned about, and support should be given to any persons willing to do something about it, especially when the problem is all but ignored by government agencies."
• Serenity Griffith, Community Member, Stanislaus County Citizen - "I am a working mother who has lived in the same Modesto neighborhood for the last 29 years. I am a Program Manager for a Day Program for disabled adults in Modesto. I have first hand knowledge of how easily groups of people can be stigmatized without any thought for a solution. I have also had the misfortune of living with a drug addicted parent and know how drug use can affect so many. I believe that until someone can find a way to wipe drugs off the planet, there needs to be safe, cost effective alternatives."

These are just a few of the many wonderful letters we received. Once we have gotten permission from all of the letter writers we will have them archived on our website. Thank you, thank you, thank you to all those who spoke on behalf of the Mono Park volunteers and in favor of syringe exchange for Stanislaus County. The fight starts with you.