U.S. flag
      An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice.
        Here's how you know
      Here's how you know**Official websites use .gov**
            
            A **.gov** website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
      **Secure .gov websites use HTTPS**
            
            A **lock** (
            A locked padlock
            ) or **https://** means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Menu

      
        close

            
            
                                              About NIJ
        
                    
  
          About NIJ
      
    
          The NIJ Director
          How NIJ Is Organized
          Mission and Guiding Principles
          Research and Development Process
          Strategic Framework
          Assessments of NIJ
          Annual Reports & Reports to Congress
          Staff Directory
          Funding & Awards
        
                    
  
          Funding & Awards
      
    
          Current Funding
          Forthcoming Funding
          Expired Funding
          Awards: Listing of Funded Projects
          Guidance for Applicants and Awardees
          Fellowship & Student Programs
          Travel Scholarships
          NIJ Challenge Program
          Library & Multimedia
        
                    
  
          Library & Multimedia
      
    
          NIJ Journal
          Podcasts
          Publications Listing
          Multimedia Listing
          Rated Practices on CrimeSolutions
          Rated Programs on CrimeSolutions
          Software & Databases
          Datasets
          Patents
          Topics
        
                    
  
          Topics
      
    
          Article Listing
          Corrections
          Courts
          Crime Prevention
          Crimes
          Drugs and Crime
          Equipment and Technology
          Forensic Sciences
          Youth Justice
          Justice System Reform
          Law Enforcement
          Tribal Crime and Justice
          Victims of Crime
          Events
        
                    
  
          Events
      
    
          NIJ 2024 Research Conference
          Scheduled Events
          On-Demand Events
          Research Meetings & Workshops
          NIJ-Hosted Online Training

                            
                                About
          Contact Us
          Subscribe
          Topics A-Z
                  Share
FacebookXLinkedInRedditPinterestEmail Home
 Opioid Crisis: NIJ Resources for First Responders

May 28, 2019
Review the YouTube Terms of Service and the Google Privacy Policy
See reuse policy
The opioid crisis has grown to one of the largest issues that American law enforcement face. The National Institute of Justice is committed to helping criminal justice practitioners as they battle this crisis. Frances Scott, a Physical Scientist at the National Institute of Justice, discusses NIJ’s funding for research and development and assistance to laboratories, a new working group looking at collecting and processing opioid evidence, partnership with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to better understand the risk to first responders; and the challenges presented by the rapidly changing chemical structure of opioids on the street.
  
  
          Transcript
FRANCES SCOTT: As the research,  development, and evaluation arm of the Department of Justice,  the National Institute of Justice is very committed to helping criminal justice practitioners as they battle the Opioid Crisis. We have funding streams that are dedicated to research and social science areas, as well as forensic science,  and other technologies. We also have funding that directly funds state and local crime labs as they are addressing the enormous scope of this Opioid Crisis with direct support for personal equipment,  et cetera. We're also hoping soon to kick off a very targeted working group that will have to do with best practices for collecting and processing opioid evidence,   so that will help everyone from the first responders who are going to  come across these scenes,  all the way through the lab personnel,  so that they can get  both the best answers and do it in the safest way possible. One of the efforts we're very proud of is what we've recently entered an agreement with the Centers for Disease Control to research and answer some of the knowledge gaps around what is the risk to first responders when they enter fentanyl and opioid scenes. So we're going to do research to directly address the impact and the risk to first responders,  what's the appropriate PPE that they need to have, how can we mitigate that risk,  how do we remediate and clean up after those scenes. So,  one of the things people don't understand about the Opioid Crisis is that we're not just talking about one drug. We've had heroin problems for years. Heroin comes directly from the poppy. But with fentanyl and all of its analogs,  we're talking about something that's created in a lab. And so,  fentanyl continues to be about % of the drug seizures, but the remaining % are things that look kind of like fentanyl and act kind of like fentanyl,  but are not fentanyl. And they've had little changes done,  or sometimes big changes done to their chemical structure, which can also change how they impact the body. The challenge then,  both for law enforcement personnel who are encountering these, anyone who's doing field drug testing or within the lab is that a method that works for fentanyl,  that works for some of the first generation of these fentanyl analogs, may or may not work for the later drugs, and the protective equipment that's needed, the risk of the first responder may be different depending on what the actual structure of those drugs that are being used now are.
    
  
Disclaimer:
              Opinions or points of view expressed in these recordings represent those of the speakers and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice. Any commercial products and manufacturers discussed in these recordings are presented for informational purposes only and do not constitute product approval or endorsement by the U.S. Department of Justice.
  
Date Published: May 28, 2019
    
          Side navigation
  

        

  
  
              NIJ Journal
    
      
            
            
            
      Podcasts
    
      
            
            
            
      Publications Listing
    
      
            
            
            
      Multimedia Listing
    
      
            
            
            
      Rated Practices on CrimeSolutions
    
      
            
            
            
      Rated Programs on CrimeSolutions
    
      
            
            
            
      Software & Databases
    
      
            
            
            
      Datasets
    
      
            
            
            
      PatentsSchool Safety Implementation Challenges - Roundtable Discussion, NIJ Virtual Conference on School Safety
                  Virtual Conference on School Safety - Closing Message
                  Bullying Prevention and Response - Breakout Session, NIJ Virtual Conference on School Safety
 Top

      National Institute of Justice

        
        
                        About NIJ
                    About NIJ
      
    
                  How NIJ Is Organized
      
    
                  NIJ Director
      
    
                  Research Disclaimer
      
    
                  Funding & Awards
                    Funding & Awards Home
      
    
                  Awards Listing
      
    
                  Current Funding
      
    
                  Guidance for Applicants and Awardees
      
    
                  Resources
                    Events
      
    
                  Podcasts
      
    
                  Publications
      
    
                  Topics
      
    
                  Multimedia
      
    
                  Reuse Policy
      
    
                  Contacts
                    Contact NIJ
      
    
                  Staff Directory
      
    
                  Submit a FOIA Request
      
    
                  File a Civil Rights ComplaintFacebook
          
                      X
          
                      YouTube
  

      810 7th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20531
      
              Secondary Footer link menu
            Accessibility
              Plain Language
              Privacy Policy
              Legal Policies and Disclaimer
              No FEAR Act
              Freedom of Information Act
              USA.gov
              Justice.gov