Major conference on law enforcement and public health

The Fifth International Conference on Law Enforcement & Public Health (LEPH), hosted by Edinburgh Napier University will be held at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre next week.

The event is aimed at changing lives by strengthening links between public health and law enforcement services

Police Scotland chief constable Iain Livingstone and Chair
of NHS Health Scotland and Scottish Police Authority board member David
Crichton will join 500 delegates for the summit which will feature the latest
research and frontline perspectives on key issues like mental health distress,
childhood trauma, drug use, violence and harm reduction.

Inga Heyman, LEPH conference chair and lecturer in Edinburgh
Napier’s School of Health & Social Care, said: “Policing and public health
have traditionally been viewed as separate entities. However, the two are
intertwined, with police officers dealing with many of the groups in society
who are supported by health professionals.

“It is critically important that we recognise and acknowledge
where these worlds come together, and inter-sectoral approaches are developed
and strengthened in order to better support the public.

 “The important
contribution of police officers to public health initiatives can go
unrecognised, and the importance of health practitioners in crime prevention,
for instance in drug treatment and harm minimisation interventions, is
similarly underestimated.

“Issues like substance use, mental health, violence,
commercial sex work and people-trafficking cut across many organisations, but,
although police officers and health practitioners see the same people, they
tend to view these issues through different lenses.

“The overarching theme of this conference is to build on research
and collaborative leadership, with the ultimate aim of bringing about real
change to people’s lives. The international conferences have got bigger with
each event, with prosecution services now represented here in Edinburgh as
delegates for the first time.”

Police Scotland Assistant Chief Constable Angela McLaren
said: “This conference is a valuable opportunity for colleagues,
stakeholders and partners to come together to share experiences and give
consideration to adopting best practice to ensure people in Scotland, and
around the world, receive the best possible service from both law enforcement
organisations and public health partners.

“These two sectors are inextricably linked and by continuing
to work together we can improve the circumstances for people and communities
through a focus on wellbeing and safety.”

Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf said: “The Scottish
Government is already promoting a multiagency collaborative approach, involving
Police Scotland, the ambulance service and health and social care, to help
support individuals in distress through a variety of pilot projects.

“This conference will provide a valuable opportunity for
different areas of the public sector to learn about health and justice issues,
and how they impact their work. I hope discussions will help facilitate further
collaboration that will benefit both the organisations involved and the wider
public.”