The role of police in harm reduction: experiences from Kyrgyzstan.
Aleksandr Zelichenko,
Chief of the Center of Police Reform, Police colonel, PhD.
In last few years Kyrgyzstan accumulated good practical experience in cooperation of police, governmental, non-governmental organizations and local communities in HR activities.
But this active police involvement had been preceded by the decade-long educational campaign against "police illiteracy" in the problem.
First steps in police training in basic knowledge on HIV/AIDS nature, its prevention, and tolerant attitude to the injected drug users - the major "risk group" that time and now - had been made in the late 1990th by members of international organizations "Doctors sans frontiers" and "Harm Reduction".
The process started in Osh - the city in the south region of Kyrgyzstan that still maintains the position of the center of Afghan narco-traffic and thus, the area of the highest rate of injected heroin users. That time the first in republic HIV - infected "via the tip of the needle" patients had been detected there, in the south.
Later on, in 2000-2001 the HIV-service NGOs and non-governmental organizations, helping the sex-workers, joined the process of the "police education".
The leaders of those organizations completed TOT courses (training of trainers) and started to educate the police with special focus on the units in most probable direct contact with HIV/AIDS problem - district police, police inspection for juvenile offenders, patrol forces, road police...
The seminars mostly concentrated on the problems of sex-worker's and injected drug user's human rights violation, although included some information about infection diseases, roots of invasion and ways for prevention.
It is important to mention that, due to their specific professional experience, mentality, knowledge and skills obtained in the Police Schools, the police officers could hardly accept the drug users and sex workers, even former, in capacity of trainers...
In 2002-2003 various international organizations (e.g. AIDS Foundation "East-West", Soros Foundation, etc.) came back to the area of police education, this time - on the new higher level. In addition, they invited very experienced trainers and international experts.
Later on, after number of special seminars for trainers, the local police officers, some of them - the high ranked police authorities, also had been involved into the teaching process.
The next step - the educating institutions of the Kyrgyz Ministry of Interior started to develop and implement the special training programs.
A good example is 36-hours training course on HIV/AIDS, other common infections (e.g. tuberculosis, hepatitis С) and ways of invasion prevention, included into the curriculum of Bishkek Police Academy since 2004.
The Medical Department of MIA also joined the process of police staff educating and actively distribute knowledge about HIV/AIDS, other sexual transmitted diseases, ways of prevention.
They scheduled the special site visits to the police stations to give lectures and seminars, using video materials, poster presentations, and other teaching aids.
All these lessons are included into the service training plan; the curriculum and timetable are approved by the chief of the city or regional police station.
In the year 2005 the police newspapers started to publish the corresponding materials in Russian and Kyrgyz languages.
Almost each weekly issue included digests of the international Mass-Media on the problem and articles by specialists in infectious diseases, science of laws and police practice aimed to address needs in police education.
In 2005 in support of the Kyrgyz Ministry of Interior application, the Open Society Institution granted US$40,000 and sponsored the project aimed on the developing the training course in the Police Academy of MIA.
The project envisages training for police cadets and acting officers (including trainees from other republics) in Harm Reduction philosophy and practice.
As it becomes clear from the course title, it is not limited by the general, basic principles of HIV prevention, although this is the large component of the program.
The ultimate goal is to teach the police community in new approaches, to develop the tolerant attitude towards drug-users, HIV - infected people and sex-workers.
The training course is developed in the context of the police reforming, with great input and active participation of NGOs and civil society, assigned representatives to the working group. The course materials had been regularly reviewed and evaluated on the round tabled with representatives of civil society and NGOs.
In the framework of the project it is also developed and going to be published soon a textbook, means to place the Harm Reduction approaches to the scientific level with methodological base developing and prospective application of the HR principles on the various negative social phenomenon.
The training course is scheduled for 36 teaching hours, designed for all fourth training year cadets, with post-course exam.
In 2007 the novels in the national anti-drug legislation had been proposed by the Law Enforcement structures, in close cooperation with international organizations, NGOs and representatives of civil society.
The new anti-drug law allowed decriminalization of minimal doses of drugs possession for personal consumption: heroin - up to 1g, opium - up to 5 g, marihuana - up to 20g.
We expect that these changes will become an effective step towards HIV/AIDS prevention in injected drug users (IDU).
Basing on "The National Act on HIV/AIDS Prevention", the Ministry of Interior Affairs issued the second edition of "Instruction for Police Forces for HIV/AIDS prevention in service personnel and vulnerable groups of population". I'd like to stress especially "the vulnerable groups of population" (VGP), who delegated representatives into the working group on the "Instruction" design.
Instruction was firmed up by the special order, laying down that police personnel must:
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Explain to VGP - representatives their rights and responsibilities in full accordance with correspondent chapters of national legislation
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To communicate with general population and VGP - representatives about ways of HIV invasion and preventive measures, to inform them about availability of post-contact prevention and provide them with correspondent contact information
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To inform VGP - representatives about current programs on harm reduction and HIV/AIDS prevention: needles/syringes exchange units, methadone therapy centers, specialized medical facilities, rehabilitation centers, social services, crisis counseling centers and hot-lines, peer-to-peer groups, and to recommend the contact addresses.
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To provide available information materials and reference literature (posters, booklets, designed by the Republican Association "HIV/AIDS", NGOs, international organizations)
Police personnel, working with VGP, must:
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Avoid all types of discrimination and violation of rights of VGP, impertinence, any actions and wording denigrating their honor and dignity, to treat them with politeness and sensitivity, to avoid any hostility demonstration, to keep order and self-control in all situations
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In approach to VGP to identify yourself with service ID, inform on your position, rank and family name, and about cause and goal of approach
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In presence of legal reason for VGP personal identification and documents inspection, to make a written report, to be careful with documents and hand it back to owner after inspection, to avoid any extralegal documents inspections and seizures
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To apply to VGPs the necessary procedural enforcement measures in full accordance with national Administrative and Criminal codes, to avoid any actions, violating their rights on personal privacy, to warranty the confidentiality of information, disclosed in course of official duties execution, never misuse the dependence of drug-users to obtain evidence or unsubstantiated testimony
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To avoid unwarranted detention and personal search of VGPs and participants of Harm Reduction and HIV/AIDS prevention programs
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To avoid any actions, preventing Harm Reduction and HIV/AIDS programs from normal functioning in the areas of these programs location
Any deliberate disregard of this instruction is subject for disciplinary sanctions imposition.
The police personnel must have skills in first medical aid in case of over-dosing and other medical emergency conditions, threatening for the life and health of VGPs.
In spite of all above, I must admit that current situation is still very far from perfect. Because of the high turnover rate of personnel, especially on the primary level - district police, police inspection for juvenile offenders, patrol forces, etc., the quantity is not converted into quality. We still have reports about police ambushes near methadone therapy centers, dull detentions of outreach workers, engaged in exchanging needles and syringes.
But we can also report about equal number of cases of effective communication of police personnel with injected drug users about danger of their risk behaving. Police officers explain the VGPs ways of HIV invasion and its prevention, direct and in many case bring them into HIV-service NGOs, work with families of drug - users.
In May of this year, at the initiative of the Ministry of Interior, the concept of HR, as one of the basic principles of HIV/AIDS prevention, had been included into the Strategy of National Security of Kyrgyz Republic that is being developed currently.
This all means that we have a great challenging task ahead...