Preventive Police Work in the Field of Psychoactive Substance Use in Local and School Environments ‒ A Review of Key Findings From Foreign Studies
Purpose:
The aim of this article is to review key findings from international scientific contributions on evidence-based effective prevention, focusing on the role of the police in conducting preventive activities in local and school environments, with an emphasis on prevention of psychoactive substance use.
Design/Methods/Approach:
In March 2024, we conducted a query on the Web of Science interface using various combinations of keywords or phrases in English. After reviewing the abstracts of the contributions, 64 entries were excluded from the analysis due to lack of relevance to the research field and duplication of results. In this paper, we present the main findings of 42 contributions that are thematically relevant to the topic under study. We performed an automated text analysis using the Orange software and conducted a content analysis of the findings from the contributions.
Findings:
The analysed contributions were categorized into five themes (Risk factors for drug use, School environment, Police officers’ attitudes, Relationships between police and youth, Strategies for preventing drug use). The findings regarding police preventive activities in local and school environments in the context of psychoactive substance use prevention are quite diverse. We can identify various roles of police officers in preventive activities, with significant importance attributed to mutual positive relationships between police officers and vulnerable groups. Additionally, it is worth mentioning the mixed findings regarding the effectiveness of preventive activities, which further reinforce the conclusions of many authors that the evaluation of such activities and best practices is crucial for their effective implementation.
Research Limitations / Implications:
The study focuses on the preventive work of the police, acknowledging that effective prevention involves a multi-agency approach. Further research should focus on identifying and analysing preventive activities and best practices in the prevention of psychoactive substance use that may not be covered in scientific contributions, including conducting empirical research within our context.
Originality/Value:
The article highlights the advantages and limitations of certain preventive approaches, and the findings can serve as a basis for an in-depth analysis of the situation in Slovenia.
UDC: 351.741:613.83(048.8)
Keywords: police, preventive work, psychoactive substances, literature review