NCJ Number
142971
Date Published
1992
Length
33 pages
Annotation
After examining issues pertinent to the threat of HIV infection to police officers engaged in official duties, this booklet considers legal and safety matters that should influence the development of police AIDS-related policies and procedures.
Abstract
The author first considers the actual threat of HIV infection through various encounters that typically raise the fear of infection among officers. These are spitting and biting, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, needle sticks, contact with blood, and contact with other body fluids. Needle sticks from HIV-infected drug users and contact with the blood of HIV-infected individuals are identified as the greatest threats for AIDS transmission to police officers. Overall, however, if safety procedures are routinely followed, an officer has a greater risk of being shot than of contracting an HIV infection while on the job. The booklet also discusses the constitutional issues associated with police use of lists of HIV-infected persons and potential liability claims based on inadequate AIDS procedures. The author discusses how police departments in south Florida address the AIDS epidemic and presents a model standard operating procedure for dealing with AIDS. The author concludes that given contemporary medical information about AIDS and HIV, the use of lists of HIV-infected persons is constitutionally unsound and unnecessarily invades personal privacy. A more effective way of protecting officers is to provide adequate training, appropriate medical equipment, and effective standard operating procedures. 8 notes, 51 references, 26 case references, and an appended proposed standard operating procedure