Attitudes Toward Harm Reduction Among Criminal Legal Staff

Substance use disorders (SUDs) are prevalent among individuals interacting with the criminal legal system (Moore et al., 2019). Despite the high rates of individuals with SUDs interacting with the criminal legal system, there continue to be barriers to integrating harm reduction approaches within the system. Harm reduction approaches (i.e., medication assisted treatment) are effective in reducing the negative consequences associated with substance use and the pathway to recovery for many. The purposes of this study are to: 1. examine the psychometric properties of the Harm Reduction Acceptability Scale (HRAS) among criminal legal staff, 2. explore individual differences in staff attitudes toward harm reduction, and 3. assess drivers of harm reduction acceptability among criminal legal staff. An online survey was created on RedCap, to which criminal legal staff (N= 198) working in the United States responded. An exploratory factor analysis identified two factors in the HRAS, harm reduction compared to abstinence and attitudes toward harm reduction approaches. The study found individual differences in attitudes toward harm reduction approaches between men and women. Additionally, criminal legal staff in helping professions (i.e., mental health counselors) were more likely to support harm reduction than those in enforcement roles (i.e., probation officers). Public stigma, support for abstinence-based recovery, and personal contact were shown to be drivers of harm reduction acceptability among criminal legal staff. The results suggest that there are several predictors of harm reduction acceptability among criminal legal staff. Examining ways to address the personal beliefs of criminal legal staff can contribute to increased acceptance of harm reduction approaches, which could lead to access to harm reduction approaches in the criminal legal system for individuals with SUDs.