Highs and Lows: An Interrupted Time-Series Evaluation of the Impact of North America’s Only Supervised Injection Facility on Crime

• Author: Andrew J. Myer,Linsey Belisle
• Published date: 01 January 2018
• Date: 01 January 2018
• DOI: 10.1177/0022042617727513
• Subject Matter: Articles

https://doi.org/10.1177/0022042617727513

Journal of Drug Issues

2018, Vol. 48(1) 36 –49

© The Author(s) 2017

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DOI: 10.1177/0022042617727513

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Article

Highs and Lows: An Interrupted

Time-Series Evaluation of the

Impact of North America’s Only

Supervised Injection Facility on

Crime

Andrew J. Myer1 and Linsey Belisle2

Abstract

North America is currently experiencing an opioid crisis. One proposed solution to combat

problems associated with injection drug use is the use of supervised injection facilities. These

facilities provide drug users a space to inject pre-obtained drugs without any legal repercussions.

Research on these facilities has focused on public health outcomes, and generally found positive

results. Far fewer studies have investigated the impact supervised injection facilities have

on crime. The current study provides an interrupted time-series analysis on the impact of

North America’s only supervised injection facility on crime. Analyses of city wide crime data

evidence no impact of the supervised injection facility on crime. Disaggregated analyses indicate

a significant decrease in crimes in the district where the supervised injection facility is located.

Implications of the findings are discussed.

Keywords

interrupted time series, supervised injection facilities, drugs and crime, drug policy evaluation

Introduction

Canada and the United States are currently experiencing an opioid epidemic (King, Fraser,

Boikos, Richardson, & Harper, 2014). Opioid use has been increasing since the 1990s, with pre-

scription drug abuse as a driving influence (Rudd, Seth, David, & Scholl, 2016). A parallel

increase in heroin abuse has also been observed (Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and

Quality, 2016). Some research suggests that abusers of prescription pain killers often substitute

heroin as their drug of choice due to cheaper costs (Jones, 2013). The increase in injection drug

use is producing serious public health effects.

Increases in opioid abuse, such as heroin, and the injection of other drugs (e.g., amphetamines

and cocaine) carry many concerns. Injection drug abusers are prone to acquiring diseases such as

HIV and hepatitis B and C (Garfein, Vlahov, Galai, Doherty, & Nelson, 1996), as well as a litany

of other infections (Kaye & Darke, 2000). Opioid overdoses have accelerated dramatically with

1North Dakota State University, Fargo, USA

2University of Nevada, Las Vegas, USA

Corresponding Author:

Andrew J. Myer, Department of Criminal Justice and Political Science, North Dakota State University, Dept. 2315,

Fargo, ND 58108, USA.

Email: andrew.j.myer@ndsu.edu

727513JODXXX10.1177/0022042617727513Journal of Drug IssuesMyer and Belisle

research-article2017