FAQs Related to Warrants
How are ethical concerns around warrant checks before outreach visits being addressed?
If law enforcement staff are present at outreach visits, they should not act on an active warrant during the outreach visit. If law enforcement officers are required to act on a warrant, they should act on it outside of the outreach visit and not be involved in the post-overdose outreach visit.
- Law enforcement staff conducting outreach should only discuss an active warrant if the overdose survivor requests information about their warrants or how to respond to a warrant that is active. To prevent coercion—or the appearance of coercion—discussions about warrants should not be initiated by the outreach team, even as a strategy for engagement.
- Outreach teams should be prepared to provide written information about and contact information for legal counsel including assistance with warrants.