An example of harm reduction is that even those people who drive faster than the legal speed limit should wear seat belts. The logic of those who would deny sterile needles to injecting drug users is that drivers should not wear seat belts when they drive faster than the speed limit. Indeed, cars should not be equipped with seat belts because it might encourage speeding, and that is dangerous. Seat belts send the wrong message. Dr. Poulson pointed out that harm reduction is an extremely important bridge to treatment.
Harm reduction is about giving people the tools to save themselves.
Dr. Poulson is researching perceptions of risk and how poor understanding of risk leads to more risky behaviors. He identified barriers to the spread of harm reduction in black communities. One of the most important barriers is a moralism that he finds usually has its source in the teachings in many churches. Steve Bates, the Executive Director of the South Carolina ACLU, addressed the question of police misconduct and the need for civilian review boards. He outlined the different types of civilian review boars and stressed the need for such boards to be able to subpoena witnesses and to independently conduct in-depth investigations when members of the community complain about being victimized by rogue police officers.