How Should Street Medicine Clinicians Interact With Law Enforcement Officers?

Abstract

Street medicine clinicians and law enforcement officers share a common challenge. Both are frontline professionals positioned at the interface of large, inflexible systems and those experiencing street homelessness. Both professions face difficult challenges as they attempt to work with a population struggling with complex issues. That complexity can be magnified when their work overlaps. Yet little has been written to guide professional conduct in this overlapping terrain. This article will discuss how street medicine clinicians might fulfill their ethical duty to those in their care when interacting with their counterparts in law enforcement.