UNODC with the support of US INL developed a guiding document on the role of Law Enforcement Officers (LEOs) on drug use prevention in schools. This guiding document aims to improve the effectiveness of pre-existing and ongoing work of LEOs involved in substance use prevention in schools. It incites LEO to re-assess their mode of operation and align their work with what the science of prevention and better integrate LEO in the larger systems of prevention to optimize the effectiveness of this prevention system.
The Role of Law Enforcement Officers in Drug Use Prevention within School Settings
An Innovative Step in the field of Prevention! - UNODC Soon First to Develop a Guiding Document on Improving the Role of Law Enforcement Officers in Drug Use Prevention within School Settings
Guiding Document Launch Event Marks Milestone in Bringing Law Enforcement a Step Closer to the Science of Prevention
The guiding document was pre-piloted in Panama, with 25 law enforcement officers.
Following the experience in Panama, the UAE, represented by its Ministry of Interior in Abu Dhabi, hosted a regional training for the GCC countries on the guiding document, building capacities of 57 law enforcement officers from Bahrain, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
The value of this guiding document was also made reference to in an EUSPR (European Union Society for Prevention Research) position paper on the subject matter. Law enforcement has to be part of the prevention workforce. The question is: how and where?
The training on the guiding document entails:
- A 3-day interactive workshop, including working groups and discussion sessions
- Follow up on the recommendations raised by the working groups on how to improve on the ongoing implementation modality.
Change the global culture of prevention in the context of law enforcement, by aligning law enforcement-led prevention responses with the science and mainstreaming monitoring and evaluation.
Supporting low- and middle-income countries in developing comprehensive evidence-based and effective prevention strategies, including all stakeholders by improving the role of the LEOs as one of the agents of prevention.
A change in knowledge, attitudes and behaviors of the training workforce is measured pre-and post- training on the guiding document.
Current State Participants In The Pipeline
Ecuador and Colombia
Potential Interest in many other countries (eg. Sri Lanka)
Wadih Maalouf, UNODC Coordinator Prevention Programme (wadih [dot] maalouf [at] un [dot] org (wadih[dot]maalouf[at]un[dot]org))
