Risk mitigation of inadvertent exposure to biothreats to front line law enforcement

Abstract

Awareness and concern over the occupational health and safety of first responders to biological threat and other hazardous exposures has grown. Law enforcement personnel play an important role in the response to such events and may even be the first on the scene to hazardous exposures. Front line police entering a property and expecting to find drugs and weapons may also unexpectedly find biological or chemical agents. In the case of a pandemic like COVID-19, they may be exposed to virus in their ordinary duties. We argue that the risk of exposure is increasing, and will continue to increase, driven by advances in science and biology which makes chemical and biological agents more accessible to a wide range of actors. In addition, serious epidemics of newly emerged infections are increasing in frequency. Although the level of risk to police will vary depending on the exposure, the uniformed officers at the front line may be at highest risk because of a higher likelihood of being unprotected when they encounter biothreats. Planning focuses on response to known events by well-trained and well-equipped HAZMAT (hazardous materials) teams. Better preparedness is required for unexpected exposure of front-line police. This includes expanded training and design of regular uniforms to reduce exposure, provision of personal protective equipment (PPE) kits which include disinfectant wipes, chemical wipes and biosensors. As the use of chemical and biological weapons by nefarious actors increases, these changes may become a necessity to protect the occupational health and safety of police.

Keywords

• police, law enforcement, personal protective equipment (ppe), chemical, biological, risk