Nick Crofts

Articles by: Prof Nick Crofts

Law enforcement and public health: Joining forces

10th June 2022

Prof Nick Crofts, Global Law Enforcement & Public Health Association

OPINION: The global response to the Covid pandemic highlighted that in many countries, public health and law enforcement have operated in silos for far too long; Professor Nick Crofts, Executive Director of the Global Law Enforcement and Public Health Association, explores the ever-closer coupling of public health and policing, including a forthcoming forum organised to champion their convergence.

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Prof Nick Crofts
Executive Director

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Professor Nick Crofts AM is the Executive Director of the Global Law Enforcement and Public Health Association (GLEPHA), and an epidemiologist and public health practitioner who has been working in the fields of HIV/AIDS, illicit drugs, harm reduction and law enforcement for over 35 years, having previously worked in community health. Much of this work was carried on from the Burnet Institute, where he was instrumental in establishing the Burnet’s public and international health programs. For his work on control of HIV among drug users in Asia, Australia and globally, he received the International Rolleston Award in 1998 and was made a Member of the Order of Australia in 2018. This work on HIV and drug use in Asia, among the most marginalized of communities, made him aware of the need for all sectors to work together to address the human rights issues underlying health inequities. Building capacity among SE Asian police in relation to HIV led to work in many settings forging relationships between police and public health. The Centre for Law Enforcement and Public Health, established in 2011 to run an annual Law Enforcement and Public Health Conference, has generated the Global Law Enforcement and Public Health Association (GLEPHA), of which he is honorary Executive Director. Nick was with the Nossal from 2007 through 2012, then held positions in Italy (with the UN Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute) and Netherlands before returning as an honorary Professorial Fellow at the Nossal in 2021; he is also appointed Professorial Fellow at the Australian Institute of Police Management. Nick is working on developing a program of work on law enforcement and public health at the Nossal, with a global focus.