Trends in crime and the introduction of a needle exchange program
- 1 December 2000
- journal article
- clinical trial
- Published by American Public Health Association in American Journal of Public Health
- Vol. 90 (12), 1933-1936
- https://doi.org/10.2105/ajph.90.12.1933
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: This study sought to determine whether introduction of a needle exchange program would be associated with increased crime rates. METHODS: Trends in arrests were compared in program and nonprogram areas before and after introduction of a needle exchange program in Baltimore. Trends were modeled and compared via Poisson regression. RESULTS: No significant differences in arrest trends emerged. Over the study period, increases in category-specific arrests in program and nonprogram areas, respectively, were as follows: drug possession, 17.7% and 13.4%; economically motivated offenses, 0.0% and 20.7%; resistance to police authority, 0.0% and 5.3%; and violent offenses, 7.2% and 8.0%. CONCLUSIONS: The lack of association of overall and type-specific arrest data with program implementation argues against the role of needle exchange programs in increasing crime rates.Keywords
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