NCJ Number
112800
Date Published
1986
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This article discusses the prevalence of intravenous drug users in New Jersey, the threatened spread of the AIDS virus through needle sharing and sexual contact, and the risk to law enforcement officers assigned to narcotics and vice units.
Abstract
It is estimated that some 10,000 drug users in northern New Jersey already have been infected with HIV through such practices as sharing or renting their 'works,' or purchasing and injecting heroin in shooting galleries where works provided by the proprietor may be used by 20 or more addicts within a single day. Precautions to be used by officers subject to contact with IV drug users are described briefly. These include using disposable, plastic gloves during a body search, cleansing any wound, and seeking medical attention in all instances where the skin is broken by needle jab or assault.