LEAHN Co-ordinator Alex Zelitchenko interviewed about police practices and harm reduction
In January 2014, LEAHN Co-ordinator and retired police officer (Kyrgyzstan), Alex Zelitchenko, was invited to speak about drug law enforcement practices and harm reduction at a workshop for Polish police officers in Warsaw. The meeting was hosted by the Polish Drug Policy Network and the Helsinki Foundation of Human Rights. Speakers addressed issues about whether current Polish drug policy and drug law enforcement practices best served the community compared to examples from Kyrgyzstan and and Washington State, USA (Seattle Chief of Police, Jim Pugel, was also a guest speaker). Legislative changes to limit drug users exposure to the criminal justice system was recommended and supported by the police speakers. Training of police in harm reduction approaches to drug use was highlighted as an essential component of changing police behaviour.
Click on the image below to watch a 7 minute video produced by the Polish Drug Policy Network on the event.
Click here for the National LEAH Network webpage for Poland (Polish/English).