LEPH 2024: Conference Report
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LEPH 2024: A Regional Conference on Law Enforcement  and Public Health in sub Saharan Africa

Overview

The first Regional African Conference on Law Enforcement and Public Health (ALEPH2024) was held from December 1st through 4th 2024 at the University of Pretoria in South Africa. The conference was convened by Faculty of the Health Sciences University of Pretoria, with co-conveners the Global Law Enforcement and Public Health Association and the African Policing Civilian Oversight Forum, and with support from the Secure Communities Forum. The conference themes were Aligning Policing and Public Health: working together for community wellbeing, and (De)criminalizing public health.

This first African Regional Conference was hugely successful. It brought together individual experts and organisations involved in the complex and diverse intersections of law enforcement and public health in Africa, and included police, public health practitioners, community and activists, policy makers and researchers from across many disciplines and many countries. The ALEPH2024 conference proved that if practitioners, policymakers and academics are brought together in this emerging field to explore the nature of the myriad interactions between police and public health and share their experiences, enormous learning takes place on how better to work together to achieve the best safety and wellbeing for the whole community.

The conference achieved the following objectives:

  1. Awareness was raised on the important links between the law enforcement and public health sectors in addressing a broad range of complex issues such as violence prevention: gender-based, family, sexual, intimate partner; including firearm proliferation, human trafficking and modern slavery;
  2. Awareness was raised on public health approaches, including public health policing, to public health issues in Africa currently criminalized or over-policed;
  3. Explored current research and state-of-the-art practice globally addressing issues of public health policing: responding to mental health crises; illicit drug use, alcohol-related issues and harm reduction;
  4. Shared experiences with partnership approaches to the widest range of important public health and welfare issues in Africa that included crises and catastrophes: responses and preparedness especially on pandemic preparedness; Corrections and detention: prisons and places of detention/deportation as public health Institutions; Wellness and resilience of police and other first responders; Challenging the criminalization of communities and public health issues: poverty, homelessness, HIV transmission, LGBTIQ+, abortion, sex work; Reproductive justice issues, and
  5. The African LEPH network was launched as an affiliated member of the Global Law Enforcement and Public Health Association.

 

Conference activities

30th November to December 1 – A pre-conference training workshop was organised by United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and South Africa Network of People Who use Drugs (SANPUD) entitled Harm Reduction Policing and Public Health Partnerships. The Workshop was held at the Protea Hotel Fire and Ice, Menlyn, Tshwane, and also included training on Police Health and Wellness. SANPUD also organised a meet and greet network event 0n the 30th of November for the workshop participants.

1st December 2024

A Plenary session that included opening and welcome speeches was moderated by the Conference Director, Professor Lekan Ayo-Yusuf, Chairperson and Head of the School of Health Systems and Public Health, University of Pretoria. A Welcome speech was delivered by Professor C de Jager, Dean, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Pretoria. The speakers included Jane Marie Ogola Ongolo from UNODC Regional Representative for Southern Africa who spoke about integrating public health approaches in law enforcement, especially in relation to strategies for addressing harm reduction and substance use among people who use drugs.  Jeanette R Hunter, Deputy Director for General Primary Health Care, spoke on bridging public health and law enforcement for healthier communities in South Africa. The keynote speaker was former President of South Africa Kgalema Motlanthe, now Commissioner of the Eastern and Southern Africa Commission on Drugs (ESACD) and a member of The Global Commission on Drug Policy.

1st December 2024

A session on policing and vulnerability around the world included reports on policing poverty and status in public spaces, multi-strategies of addressing structural barriers in accessing services among key populations, and the experience of engaging the Eswatini police in vulnerability and policing.

A special session on Systems thinking in relation to prevention of violence was led by Professors Stan Gilmour and Zara Quigg, and Dr Gwen Dereymaeker. This led into a workshop on the future of the GLEPHA Violence Prevention Special Interest Group.

A welcoming reception allowed conference participants to meet across sectors and countries, and to network with their colleagues.

2nd December 2024

This day included several packed sessions addressing critical issues requiring police-public health parnerships.

A session on Prevention of violence included talks on Neurodisability and the urgent need for collaborative violence prevention; the impact of psychosocial and cultural factors on violence against women and girls in developing areas; early intervention crime reduction: understanding and enhancing the role of police and multi-agency partners in preventing harms that cross the public health and criminal justice landscape.

A session on Public health policing included Law enforcement officers’ integration in the key population programming for HIV Prevention in Malawi; Calming the Chaos – working with law enforcement to support mental health recovery; Health and social care portfolio, Saint Helena Island; Addressing sex worker vulnerability through Specialist Police Officer Roles; Vulnerability and Policing; POLICARE: an integrated responsiveness to victims of sexual violence in Kenya.

A session on South-South perspectives on shifting the role of the police in public space governance which included African regional perspective; South Asian regional perspective; Caribbean regional perspective; and a Latin American regional perspective.

A Marketplace of Ideas session: Policing vulnerable groups partnership: South African Police Service (SAPS) Dignity, Diversity and Policing (DDP) programme. The session was on sex workers, PWUD & LGBTIQ+ people who are experiencing less or reduced violence, increased access to justice and police officers who changed their attitudes and practices positively. As a result of the training programme SAPS offers started to recognise their role in South Africa’s public health approach and are championing health and human rights for all. SAPS are now acting more professionally when engaging vulnerable communities because they developed Standard Operating Procedures for the Policing of Sex Workers and LGBTIQ+ people which brings about better service delivery.

Market place of Ideas session: Developing laws and policies to strengthen access to healthcare for vulnerable populations in Africa through Universal Health Coverage. The session shared on how to materialize the financial health protection of vulnerable populations through a project that seeks to show the importance of the legal framework in strengthening governmental universal health coverage plans across Africa for vulnerable populations.

A session on Police Health and Wellness which included Enhancing public health policing: A holistic approach to mental health crises, substance abuse and self-harm amongst officers within the Royal Eswatini Police Service; Alcohol misuse among police officers; Promoting wellness and building resilience among police and first responders.

A session on Addressing violence in prisons and other closed settings as a Human Rights and Public Health Strategy which included Conditions in immigration detention; Conditions in child and youth care detention; Personal experience of sexual abuse in detention; The role of independent oversight bodies in addressing violence in prisons and other closed settings; Addressing sexual violence in prisons and other closed settings.

Various miscellaneous policing and public health issues were addressed, including Criminal justice system in Bangladesh: Issues and challenges of police investigation; Understanding how traffic police work with public health authorities in management of road trauma in Uganda: A cross-sectional review; Counter terrorism; a balance between protection and human rights; Exploring knowledge of Neurodisability and access to education in custody at a Youth Correctional Centre in Cape Town, South Africa; Awareness and Implementation of Smoke-Free Provisions of the 2015 Tobacco control Act in outdoor and indoor recreational facilities in Abuja, Nigeria.

3rd December 2024

The third day of the conference continued to examine research evidence and program experience in addressing the multiple issues confronting the different sectors.

The morning started with keynote speeches on Surviving and thriving: Resiliency and post-traumatic growth in your career; Preventing gender-based violence: intersections of law enforcement and other evidence-based measures.

Prevention of violence in different settings was high on the conference agenda. This session included Public health policing in the Pacific Islands: Understanding place-based responses to gender-based violence; Challenging spaces: engaging police in GBV response for Key populations; Enhancing Safety in High-Crime Areas: Lessons Learned from transversal collaboration in the Western Cape Government;  The political and bureaucratic dimensions of policing and violence prevention in an African context.

A report on work being done bringing Collaborations across the globe – South Africa and the United States: a framework for learning. Lessons learned to help influence decisions on implementation and operation of non-punitive efforts to engage with marginalized communities and provide much needed alternatives to criminal legal system actors.

A session on How law enforcement can play a vital role in protecting key populations which included the panel will address challenging criminalization of marginalised communities which has consequences in lack of access to HIV and health related care and public health. Programmes and projects regarding the intersection of HIV, Health and criminalization were shared and recommendations of how law enforcement can play a vital role in protecting key populations as well as giving them dignity through their work.

A workshop by the International Association of Chiefs of Police on health-related resources had a presentation that addressed the vital role of health and well-being resources for police officers and their families which emphasized the need for comprehensive health services and support systems within police agencies. Showcasing successful models and strategies implemented. The IACP advocated for a proactive approach to officer wellness that not only benefits individuals but also enhances the effectiveness of police agencies and their communities.

A Marketplace of Ideas on the South African Police Service (SAPS) Dignity, Diversity and Policing (DDP) Ambassadors programme a partnership of SAPS Employee Health and Wellness (EHW), Triangle Project, Aidsfonds and COC Netherlands which provides resources, SOGIESC training, coaching and mentoring to SAPS LGBTIQ+ police officers to advocate for inclusive SAPS policies and provision of non-stigmatising and non-discriminatory policing services to South Africa. 5 DDP Ambassadors representing lesbian, gay, bisexual, gender non-confirming and trans persons shared their personal experiences and stories as police LGBTQ+ police officers who are lobbying and advocating for DDP within SAPS.

A session on Working with marginalised communities that included Community perceptions of South African Police Service responses to illicit substance use and the impacts on health and well-being of community leaders and substance users in a peri-urban community in Cape Town; Are we truly headed in the right direction to advance Human Rights and HIV Service Access for Eswatini’s Marginalized Communities?; Fronting Law Enforcement Officers in addressing structural barriers for HIV Prevention: Nyasa Rainbow Rights experience from selected districts in Malawi; Defying the war on drugs: Narcofeminism as the radical solution to Public Health Policing and Substance Use Disorder; Increasing access to sexual reproductive health services for LGBTIQ person’s through Sexual Orientation Gender Identity Expression and Sex Characteristics (SOGIESC) Training: A Case Study of Improved Community Relations and Health Outcomes.

Marketplace of Ideas on Challenging negative public health policing and unjust laws against MSW and LGBTQI in Malawi. CheRA shared on improved relationships with the police and registered decline in reported violence cases by police. Increased access for HIV services among vulnerable groups was noted as a result of good strategies on public health policing.

Marketplace of Ideas on Innovation in police led diversion: Evolution and innovation in the LEAD initiative in Seattle, USA provided attendees with an opportunity to hear from a panel of experts from Seattle, Washington who presented on the origins of Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD), the first pre-booking diversion initiative in the United States in 2011. The innovations that have occurred in housing and place-based strategies as stakeholders in Seattle used the LEAD framework to address public safety and disorder were shared.

A session on Law enforcement and Harm Reduction which included Harm reduction and law enforcement in Nigeria: An Assessment of police role and perception towards People Who Use Drugs; Optimizing HIV program among Key Population: Collaborative strategies between Law Enforcement and Public Health in Malawi; Exploring challenges to effective needle and syringe programme implementation in the city of Tshwane, South Africa; Reducing harm through peace-making with unlikely partners.

4th December 2024

The morning session again highlighted key issues including Crisis on trial: Exploring the Intersection of Public Health and Policing Through Judicial Lens; and Joint decision-making, human security and our response to gender-based violence.

A session on Infectious diseases and crisis response which included Criminal justice, human rights and COVID-19: The response of five African countries – Lessons from the past and opportunities for the future; Navigating the Pandemic: Effective communication strategies that enhanced the COVID-19 vaccination campaigns in Northern Nigeria.

A SARPCCO Workshop: Police Health and Wellness: The regional training programme which supports SARPCCO member states to promote health and wellness among police officers. The training programme supports police and community members to access effective treatment, prevention, care and support services. Through a focus on human rights, non-discrimination and respect, the training contributes to the elimination of stigma and discrimination of vulnerable groups. The workshop presented on communicable and non-communicable diseases (mental health including suicide, cancers, substance use), pandemic preparedness, human rights and policing and diversity.

A Secure Communities Forum training workshop shared the Basics of Law Enforcement care and support for people with disabilities, a specialized training course developed by the Secure Communities Forum (SCF) to equip front-line law enforcement officers with the essential knowledge and skills to interact effectively and respectfully with people with disabilities. The session focused on building empathy, awareness, and practical skills to improve the encounters with people with disabilities. The workshop shared fundamental aspects of disability awareness, including understanding visible and non-visible disabilities, communication strategies, and practical accommodations that officers can implement on the scene and emphasizes respectful communication, advocating for the dignity of all individuals, and fostering an inclusive community. The course enhances officers’ understanding of disabilities and their confidence in handling diverse needs, the course supports SCF’s mission to create safer, more inclusive communities and foster trust between law enforcement and all members of society.

The African Law Enforcement and Public Health Network

The last session on the last day saw the Launch of the African Regional Law Enforcement and Public Health Network (ALEPHN). The ALEPH network brings together law enforcement and public health stakeholders, together with affected communities, to work effectively, efficiently and in collaboration, to make life safer and better for all. The Network will promote joint learning and joint action, strength through collaboration and partnership.

Feedback from participants

Feedback from conference participants found that even though it was the first of its kind in Africa, the conference was well planned in terms of logistics and timely information sharing before and during the conference. The programme was put together well, very good and the sessions were engaging, kept lively and exciting. Participants felt they learnt something new, met new friends and new organisations to collaborate with in country, Africa level and globally. They expected to keep the momentum going and looking forward to ALEPHN activities.

Home takeaways/Lessons – The closing ceremony session shared lessons from the conference such as:

  • A multi-sectoral approach is critical for effective dialogue and learning, significant investment in diversity, equity, and inclusion is essential to enable law enforcement to serve diverse population needs, with particular focus on key populations in public health contexts.
  • African public health systemic challenges must be addressed through human rights-based measures prioritizing human rights, focusing on dignity, inclusivity, and comprehensive social solutions.
  • Policing and the justice system should be fundamentally positioned as primary mechanisms for promoting and protecting human rights, ensuring consistent adherence to the rule of law.
  • The role of policing must underscore that policing is a legal attribute that extends beyond enforcement and in the performance of policing, it should be done in justice system mechanisms which are transparent, accountable and equitable.
  • Intersectoral collaboration is not optional but imperative for protecting human dignity, upholding justice, and creating integrated, holistic approaches to complex social challenges.
  • Institutional strategies must transcend traditional boundaries, creating adaptive frameworks that can respond effectively to diverse societal needs and emerging challenges.