International Development Law Organization

Policing and HIV consultation

More than 50 experts, representatives of police-forces, community organizations, and government agencies participated in an International Consultation on Policing, Public Health and Vulnerable Populations, hosted by the Law Enforcement and HIV Network (LEAHN) and co-organized by IDLO in Amsterdam on 1 October 2016.

Discussions focused on best practice in effective policing, especially in relation to sex workers, people who use drugs, homeless people, LGBT communities, and trafficked persons, as well as the greater participation of vulnerable populations in building safe, secure and healthy communities in partnership with the police.

‘Effective policing,’ said David Patterson, IDLO’s Senior Legal Expert for Health, ‘has to be based on legitimacy with communities. All the speakers affirmed that communities should be involved in the development of policing policies that affect them.’

The participants also reviewed draft ‘Principles for Policing, Public Health and Vulnerable Populations’, which will be published later in 2016 by LEAHN.

The event, which was organized in consultation with the Dutch Police and Correlation – the European Network on Social Inclusion and Health, follows on from previous LEAHN consultations in 2012 and 2014 and was held prior to the 3rd International Conference on Law Enforcement and Public Health. LEAHN is a peer police support network, which aims to raise the profile of the police role in HIV responses and build relationships between police, civil society and HIV programs.