Needle and Syringe Exchange Program for HIV/AIDS Prevention : Areas to be Considered by Law Enforcement Agency for Implementation

Abstract

Needle and Syringe Exchange Programme (NSEP) is a HIV/AIDS prevention programme targeting hardcore drug addicts. NSEP encourages addicts to exchange used needles with new syringe for free. The NSEP in Malaysia involves the cooperation of multi-sector agencies such as the Ministry of Health (MOH), the Royal Malaysian Police (RMP) and the Malaysian AIDS Council (MAC). The implementation of the NSEP creates controversy when it being seen to encourage continuous drug addicts activities and solely focus on HIV/AIDS prevention. An exploratory study being conducted to examine the involvement of multisectoral in the NSEP. This article would only discuss RMP's findings with regards to its discretionary dilemma as a drug law enforcement agency. Five police officers of the Narcotics Crime Investigation Department were selected as informants. Data collection being carried out by using an in-depth interview method. The analyses form theme from data that being carried out inductively. This article would discuss only two of the overall studies: i) the form of discretion given by the RMP to NSEP clients and ii) the challenges encountered by RMP in defending its discretion. The findings highlighted dilemma encountered by police on their discretion not to arrest or impose any detention procedures towards NSEP clients. The RMP found it difficult to exercise discretion towards client because: i) the discretion not to arrest the addict was against the law, ii) the RMP was concerned about the misuse of discretion by the client and iii) the discretionary giving could affect public perception of RMP responsibility and integrity. The study proposes a module in implementing the NSEP on a multisectoral network especially involving the police.