By Liam Michaud a a , b , * , Gillian Kolla c , d , Katherine Rudzinski Graduate Program in Socio-Legal Studies, York University, Toronto, ON, Canada b e , Adrian Guta

The ongoing overdose and drug toxicity crisis in North America has contributed momentum to the emergence of safer supply prescribing and programs in Canada as a means of providing an alternative to the highly volatile unregulated drug supply. The implementation and scale-up of safer supply have been met with a vocal reaction on the part of news media commentators, conservative politicians, recovery industry representatives, and some prominent addiction medicine physicians. This reaction has largely converged around several narratives, based on unsubstantiated claims and anecdotal evidence, alleging that safer supply programs are generating a "new opioid epidemic", reflecting an emerging alignment among key institutional and political actors. Employing situational analysis method, and drawing on the policy studies and social science scholarship on moral panics, this essay examines news media coverage from January to July 2023, bringing this into dialogue with other existing empirical sources on safer supply (e.g. Coroner's reports, program evaluations, debates among experts in medical journals). We employ eight previously established criteria delineating moral panics to critically appraise public dialogue regarding safer supply, diverted medication, and claims of increased youth initiation to drug use and youth overdose. In detailing the emergence of a moral panic regarding safer supply, we trace historic continuities with earlier drug scares in Canadian history mobilized as tools of racialized poverty governance, as well as previous backlashes towards healthcare interventions for people who use drugs (PWUD). The essay assesses the claims of moral entrepreneurs against the current landscape of opioid use, diversion, and overdose among youth, notes the key role played by medical expertise in this and previous moral panics, and identifies what the convergence of these narratives materialize for PWUD and healthcare access, as well as the broader policy responses such narratives activate.

International Journal of Drug Policy 127 (2024) 104423

By Jacek Koziarski

Drawing upon seven years of police calls for service data (2014–2020), this study examined the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on calls involving persons with perceived mental illness (PwPMI) using a Bayesian Structural Time Series. The findings revealed that PwPMI calls did not increase immediately after the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020. Instead, a sustained increase in PwPMI calls was identified in August 2020 that later became statistically significant in October 2020. Ultimately, the analysis revealed a 22% increase in PwPMI calls during the COVID-19 pandemic than would have been expected had the pandemic not taken place. The delayed effect of the pandemic on such calls points to a need for policymakers to prioritize widely accessible mental health care that can be deployed early during public health emergencies thus potentially mitigating or eliminating the need for increased police intervention, as was the case here.

Crime Science 2021 10:22

By Becca Cadoff, Kristyn Jones, Preeti Chauhan, & Michael Rempel

Alternatives to arrest are a means of lessening the deleterious effects of exposure to the criminal legal system. Current alternatives to arrest policies focus primarily on lower-level offenses such as misdemeanors, which constitute the bulk of police enforcement practices and criminal caseloads in the United States. With funding from Arnold Ventures, the Data Collaborative for Justice reviewed policy, practice and research to-date concerning five key models: 1. Citations involving releasing people to appear in court on their own at a later date in lieu of a traditional arrest in which police officers take the individual into custody. 2. Diversion programs involving pre-arrest social service participation where a case is never booked if individuals complete their diversion obligation. 3. Legalization (in which particular conduct becomes permissible under the law) and decriminalization (in which conduct remains illegal but is moved to the civil legal system). 4. Police-involved crisis response models that can either involve trained officers acting alone or in tandem with mental health professionals to respond to people in mental health crisis without resorting to an arrest (e.g., by sending a person to treatment or services). 5. Non-police response models in which social workers, paramedics, or other non-police agencies respond to certain calls for service or criminalized conduct without the presence of law enforcement. Research on any one model is limited. Although key themes and findings are outlined below, alternatives to arrest are in a growth period, and future research is likely to add clarity as well as, potentially, revise our understanding of what works and why.

New York: Data Collaborative for Justice at John Jay College, 2023. 41p.

By P. M. Di Nota , G. S. Anderson , R. Ricciardelli , R. N. Carleton3 and D. Groll

Background Recent investigations have demonstrated a significant prevalence of mental health disorders, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and suicidal ideation, plans and attempts among Canadian public safety personnel, including police officers. What remains unknown is the relationship between mental disorders and suicide among sworn police officers, and the prevalence of both among civilian police workers. Aims To examine the relationship between suicidal ideation, plans and attempts and positive mental health screens for depression, anxiety, panic disorder, alcohol abuse and PTSD among Canadian sworn and civilian police employees. Methods Participants completed an online survey that included self-report screening tools for depression, anxiety, panic disorder, alcohol abuse and PTSD. Respondents were also asked if they ever contemplated, planned or attempted suicide. Between-group (Royal Canadian Mounted Police [RCMP], provincial/municipal police and civilians) differences on mental health screening tools were calculated using Kruskal–Wallis analyses. The relationship between mental disorders and suicidal ideation, plans and attempts was evaluated with a series of logistic regressions. Results There were 4236 civilian and sworn officer participants in the study. RCMP officers reported more suicidal ideation than other police and scored highest on measures of PTSD, depression, anxiety, stress and panic disorder, which were significantly associated with suicidal ideation and plans but not attempts. Relative to provincial and municipal police, civilians reported more suicide attempts and scored higher on measures of anxiety. Conclusions The results identify a strong relationship between mental health disorders and increased risk for suicidal ideation, plans and attempts among sworn and civilian Canadian police employees.

Occupational Medicine, Volume 70, Issue 3, April 2020, Pages 183–190,

By National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

On February 26–27, 2014, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s Forum on Global Violence Prevention convened a workshop titled Mental Health and Violence: Opportunities for Prevention and Early Intervention. The workshop brought together advocates and experts in public health and mental health, anthropology, biomedical science, criminal justice, global health and development, and neuroscience to examine experience, evidence, and practice at the intersection of mental health and violence. Participants explored how violence impacts mental health and how mental health influences violence and discussed approaches to improve research and practice in both domains. This publication summarizes the presentations and discussions from the workshop.

Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. .2018. 172p.