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The purpose of this paper is to report on a systematic review that examined police social work and social service collaboration strategies implemented to address social problems.

A systematic review was conducted to identify the components of police social work and social service collaboration strategies. A total of 11 databases were searched. The inclusion criteria centered on the social problem, focus population, service providers, collaboration components and geographic location. Any methodological approach was included provided that a collaboration between police and social service providers focused on addressing a social problem was implemented and described.

The database searches identified 3,065 hits. After first eliminating duplicate titles, then reviewing and eliminating titles and abstracts that did not met the inclusion criteria, 119 full-text studies were reviewed. Among the 81 studies included in the systematic review, 83 implemented collaborations were found. The most collaborations were implemented in the USA, whereas only one implemented collaboration was found among the majority of the countries. Interpersonal violence was the most frequent social problem addressed by the collaborations followed by mental illness, crime, juvenile delinquency, and alcohol and substance use and abuse. Interventions were predominantly delivered by social workers who provided referrals and collaboration with social service agencies that assisted adults.

Given that police officers are first responders to a wide range of social problems, investigating and disseminating information about the characteristics of police social service collaboration strategies is an important endeavor. Whereas investigating the effectiveness of collaborations was not the aim of this review, several practical implications can be derived from the findings. These findings show the types of social problems, partners and tasks that comprise the collaborations. The present findings suggest that law enforcement agencies do not have accessible name brand social work and social service collaboration models that can be replicated. The majority of the collaborations found appear to be unique models implemented between law enforcement and social service agencies. More outcome studies are needed that investigate whether the social problem has improved among citizens that received services from the collaboration.

This paper is the first systematic review focused on police social work and social service collaboration strategies implemented to address social problems.

This article summarises two evaluations of arrest referral schemes in a county force where support services are offered as an alternative to case disposal under the criminal justice system. Random samples of individuals who had accessed the schemes were selected for analysis. Strong success was indicated in the drug arrest referral scheme evaluation and the alcohol arrest referral project received a positive outcome.

This article describes the conclusions from interviews with drug users who had been referred to treatment services through an arrest referral scheme. It describes the lifestyles, drug use and offending behaviour of the subject group and their reactions to the scheme. It is asserted that the inflexibility of the treatment services prevented success. It is argued that drug treatment services require flexibility, toleration and early intervention in order to be effective.

The growing concern about school violence and security has led to a dramatic increase in the number of police officers working in schools. This increase has been accompanied by a focus on the training of school-based law enforcement, the discretion that they exercise when interacting with youth, and the concern that these factors may lead to more youths facing arrest and formal processing by the juvenile and criminal justice system. What is not well understood is whether or not having formal school resource officer (SRO) training or higher education impacts the officer’s decision making when responding to an incident involving a student. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

This paper uses survey data from school police officers within the USA (n=179) to examine the officer’s preferred post-incident method of disciplining the youth, from the most punitive and formal approach of suspension or referral to juvenile authorities, to the less punitive and informal approach such as diversion or warn and release.

Overall, the study found that officers who have received formal SRO training were more likely to prefer a formal resolution to the incidents, and more highly educated officers tended to favor less punitive and informal responses.

These findings question the current state of the effectiveness of SRO training at using diversionary tactics for conflict resolution in a school setting.

The aim of this randomised intervention study was to test the use of two counselling styles in reducing alcohol consumption in offenders who were hazardous drinkers and who had been charged with alcohol‐related offences. An additional aim was to evaluate the research process itself before embarking on a larger trial. Participants were recruited from a police custody suite in the south east of England and randomised to receive either a motivational interviewing brief intervention (MIBI) or a standard brief intervention (BI). The Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT) was used to screen offenders for hazardous drinking. Participants were asked to complete a second AUDIT 12 weeks later. Two hundred offenders with alcohol‐related offences were screened over a 10‐month period. Of these, 182 were alcohol dependent and were therefore excluded from the study. Of the 18 who were eligible to enter the study, six refused to participate. Five were randomised to the MIBI group and seven into the BI group (BI). The mean age of the MIBI group was 25 (SD±3.86) years and the mean age of the BI group was 32.4 (SD±7.9). Audit scores were significantly lower at time 2 compared to time 1 for both intervention groups (t(11) = 17.60; p < 0.05). There was no significant difference between the different intervention groups.

Provides empirical evidence for the first time to suggest that police officers are less apt to arrest in domestic violence cases when directly comparing officers’ responses in domestic and non‐domestic assaults. Uses a sample of 92,000 police reports in a small midwestern police department of the USA. Supports the premise of disparate treatment for domestic assaults. Finds that injuries were equally likely in domestic and non‐domestic assaults; that the impact of weapons is limited. Calls for further research to clarify these issues, e.g., to re‐examine officers’definitions of injuries and weapons. Supports findings that officers are more apt to arrest when a victim requests this.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the prevalence of suicide ideation amongst a group of people who had been arrested and taken into police custody, and were then referred to a mental health service operating in the police stations.

A referred sample of 888 cases were collected over an 18-month period during 2012/2013. Clinical assessments were conducted using a template in which background information was collected (including information about their previous clinical history, substance misuse, alleged offence, any pre-identified diagnoses, and the response of the service) as part of the standard operating procedure of the service. Data were analysed using a statistical software package.

In total, 16.2 per cent (n=144) reported suicide ideation, with women being more likely to report than men. In total, 82.6 per cent of the suicide ideation sample reported a history of self-harm or a suicide attempt. Suicide ideation was also associated with certain diagnostic categories (depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and personality disorder), a history of contact with mental health services, and recent (within 24 hours) consumption of alcohol or drugs.

This evaluation adds to the limited literature in this area by describing a large sample from a real clinical service. It provides information that can assist with future service designs and it offers support for calls for a standardised health screening process, better safety arrangements for those who have recently used alcohol or drugs (within 24 hours) and integrated service delivery across healthcare domains (i.e. physical healthcare, substance use, and mental health).

Despite a considerable increase in drug testing within the criminal justice system (CJS) through schemes such as the drug interventions programme, research is equivocal about its added value, as a recent series of reports from the UK Drug Policy Commission highlighted. The role of drug testing needs to be clarified and its cost‐effectiveness confirmed through studies with comparative regimes. Any further expansion of drug testing within the CJS should be undertaken with caution.

This article considers the recommendations to the government's public consultation exercise for drug‐using sex workers (Home Office, 2004). It argues that the ‘problem’ of drug use by sex workers cannot be separated from wider social problems experienced by this group, especially the problem of poverty. It suggests that the new prostitution strategy conflates drug use and sex work, reducing involvement in the latter to a problem of the former. Thus, other social problems experienced by these women, particularly the problems of poverty and social exclusion, are side‐stepped. By so doing, the government absolves itself of responsibility to tackle the underlying conditions that drive women and young people into prostitution and problematic drug use, leading me to argue that the new strategy offers a ‘cheap fix’ for drug‐using sex workers.