A police education program which bundles occupational health and safety information for police officers with education about the benefits of harm reduction programs for the community has received praise from the Director of the Tijuana Police Academy, Mexico who said “Policía tienen más miedo a una enfermedad que a un balazo” [Police are more afraid of disease than a bullet].”
The praise for the University of California San Diego (UCSD) project came at a graduation ceremony for police cadets at the Tijuana Police Academy in December 2014. Program Director, Professor Steffanie Strathdee was at the police graduation with PhD students (Jaime Arrendondo and Teresita Rocha) and Dr Efrain Patino, who is the MD responsible for medical care for the police force. All have been pivotal to its success (Professor Leo Beletsky, Dr Rangel and Dr Maria Luisa Rolon, also core members of the team, could not make it to the graduation).
The Director of the Police Academy and the Tijuana Police Chief (Secretario) publicly thanked the research team and said “Thank you, friends from UCSD, for protecting our health, and the health of our spouses and children.”
UCSD has trained police academy trainers to deliver the education program which will promote sustainability after the program has ended.