title: Police must join the fast track to end AIDS by 2030.
abstract: World leaders have committed to ending AIDS by 2030, but stigma and discrimination remain significant obstacles. In particular, police are critical, front-line determinants of risk for many people living with HIV (PLHIV) and members of other key affected populations (KAPs). The negative impact of adverse police behaviours and practices on HIV risk is well documented, and these risks undermine global efforts to end AIDS. Far less well documented, and less common, are attempts to ameliorate this impact by working to change police behaviours. This Special Issue seeks to help redress this imbalance by presenting a selection of original, provocative and important interventions from academics, police officers and other stakeholders concerned with documenting the potential for constructive, progressive and evidence-based approaches to the reduction of HIV risk. We recommend urgent boosting of efforts and funding to engage police in the HIV response. Among other strategies, this needs sustainable funding of programmes and their evaluation, and increased and continuing advocacy and education at all levels to match policy and law reform.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Law Enforcement and Public Health, Melbourne, Australia.|International Development Law Organization, The Hague, Netherlands; nick.crofts@unimelb.edu.auncrofts@idlo.int.
authors.forename: Nick
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Crofts
authors.affiliation: International Development Law Organization, The Hague, Netherlands.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Patterson
mesh_terms: D015658:HIV Infections / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D016495:Police / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000523:psychology; D057545:Social Stigma; D000078329:Workforce
keywords: HIV; civil society; drug use; law enforcement; partnerships; police; sex work; vulnerability