Vulnerability assessment across the frontline of law enforcement and public health: a systematic review

Assessing vulnerability is an international priority area across law enforcement and public health (LEPH). Most contacts with frontline law enforcement professions now relate to 'vulnerability'; frontline health responders are experiencing a similar increase in these calls. To the authors&...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Policing & society 2022-04, Vol.32 (4), p.540-559
Main Authors: Enang, Iniobong, Murray, Jennifer, Dougall, Nadine, Aston, Elizabeth, Wooff, Andrew, Heyman, Inga, Grandison, Graeme
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
assessment
complex needs
Evaluation
evidence synthesis
International law
Law enforcement
Medical personnel
Peer assessment
policing
Prevention programs
Professional training
Professions
Public health
Systematic review
Triage
Vulnerability
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Summary:Assessing vulnerability is an international priority area across law enforcement and public health (LEPH). Most contacts with frontline law enforcement professions now relate to 'vulnerability'; frontline health responders are experiencing a similar increase in these calls. To the authors' best knowledge there are no published, peer-reviewed tools which specifically focus on assessing vulnerability, and which are specifically designed to be applicable across the LEPH frontline. This systematic review synthesised 33 eligible LEPH journal articles, retaining 18 articles after quality appraisal to identify assessment guidelines, tools, and approaches used relevant to either law enforcement and/or public health professions. The review identifies elements of effective practice for the assessment of vulnerability, aligned within four areas: prevention, diversion/triage, specific interventions, and training across LEPH. It also provides evidence that inter-professional/integrated working, shared training, and aligned systems are critical to effective vulnerability assessment. This systematic review reports, for the first time, effective practices in vulnerability assessment as reported in peer-reviewed papers and provides evidence to inform better multi-agency policing and health responses to people who may be vulnerable.
ISSN:1043-9463
1477-2728
DOI:10.1080/10439463.2021.1927025