Law Enforcement, Drug Policy and Harm Reduction Workshop

Dates: Friday 4 September – Saturday 5 September 2026

Time: 9am – 5pm

Location: Cloth Hall Court, Quebec St, Leeds LS1 2HA

Price: £60.00 per person (price includes attendance for both days, lunch and refreshments) – subsidised through sponsorship

A satellite meeting at #LEPH2026 – the 8th International Conference on Law Enforcement and Public Health, Leeds, UK, 6-9 September, 2026

Convenors

Background

Aside from the users of drugs and their families, no group is more affected by current illicit drug policies than are police. The use of and dependence on illicit drugs are the result of social and health determinants, especially mental health issues, and lead to social and health adverse consequences.

The prevention of harms associated with the use of illicit drugs, and the response to their use and associated harm, is the province of both the law enforcement and the public health sectors.

There is often, however, a gulf between law enforcement policy and practice and public health policy and practice.

This workshop continues the series of meetings at the annual LEPH conferences to explore issues of common interest to both sectors, to share experiences and perspectives, examine evidence about innovative approaches that achieve both public health goals and optimize community safety, and make recommendations about effective and humane approaches.

As a Public Health conference, we seek to find how police can better be included as part of the public health workforce and contribute to the achievement of public health goals, which are grounded in human rights, community safety and public security.

This workshop is proudly organised by GLEPHA’s Special Interest Group on Law Enforcement and Harm Reduction, Law Enforcement Action Partnership (LEAP) and Transform Drug Policy Foundation.

Speakers

Assistant Commissioner (ret’d) Gary Ritchie, Global Consortium Group | Edinburgh Napier University

Gary is a Managing Partner with the Global Consortium Group and a former Assistant Chief Constable with Police Scotland. He led the development of Scotland’s first police drug strategy, shifting focus from enforcement to harm reduction, and oversaw the national roll-out of Naloxone to frontline officers. A strong advocate for public health approaches to policing, Gary has collaborated internationally on leadership and harm reduction initiatives and is Chair of the Scottish Institute for Policing Research’s International Board.

Professor Alex Stevens, University of Sheffield

Alex is Professor of Criminology at the University of Sheffield’s Centre for Criminological Research. He is also Chair of the Drug Science Enhanced Harm Reduction Working Group, and a former President of the International Society for the Study of Drug Policy and member of the UK Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs. He was the principal investigator for the PDD evaluation.