The 8th Global Law Enforcement and Public Health (LEPH) international event focused on learning from policing and partnership practice around the world and building networks for knowledge exchange and benchmarking going forward

Over the course of the 4 day event in Leeds, staff from the Scottish Police Authority, along with colleagues from Police Scotland and Academia, heard about emerging and tested practice in policing and vulnerability around the world. As well as delivering a workshop on the Scottish partnership approach to mental health distress and crisis, covering the Framework for Collaboration, shared commitments, and the way forward for a whole system response to vulnerability, we heard about practice in policing jurisdictions around the world.

From insights into officer wellbeing from Sweden, approaches to county lines in the UK, responding innovatively to drug harm in Glasgow and Hull, the work of St Giles Trust and Cranstoun, navigator programmes across the UK, crisis response in New York, and vulnerability response in the USA and Australia, the programme was packed with insights and learning. The interface between policing and public health is becoming increasingly important, and complex, as the needs of communities and citizens evolve.

LEPH continues to be a great opportunity to consider the role that policing plays in a public health response to communities and reinforces the need for a focus on prevention at all stages and in all interventions. That message was underlined in the day three plenaries from retired ACC Gary Ritchie who presented on the Police Scotland approach to drug harm, and current ACC Mark Sutherland who presented alongside Diane Stockton of Public Health Scotland on a prevention focused Scotland. The final conference oration, delivered by Karyn McCluskey of Community Justice Scotland, was a rallying cry for the need to work differently and consistently to improve outcomes for those most vulnerable in our communities.