Role of Law Enforcement in the Reduction of Substance Use and Other Behavioral Health Risks: Substance Use as a Focus: United States as an Example

Reducing behavioral health risks requires a comprehensive range of prevention and treatment services delivered by professionals who are ‘housed’ within various community-based provider silos. Law enforcement constitutes an important silo that has not been closely associated with prevention, and particularly with evidence-based prevention programs and practices. Yet within communities there are well-defined prevention roles that law enforcement can play to support and enhance ongoing prevention programming. These roles, as informed by police science, are very much related to the overall role of law enforcement in the communities that officers serve. In this paper we discuss these roles and guidelines and make recommendations as to the training and functioning of law enforcement officers within a prevention framework.