Police and Health: Exploring the Research Agenda**

Abtract: Considerable evidence supports the view that criminal laws and law enforcement practices can shape individual and community health. People engaged in illegal activities -- drug users, sex workers -- are particularly vulnerable, but policies and practices of police, prosecutors, judges and jail/prison managers can all also influence the health of people who are personally not involved in the criminal justice system. Spouse, partners and children can all be harmed, or assisted, depending upon how criminal laws are enforced and the extent to which health considerations enforce the practices of law enforcement agents. This presentation explores the evidence base and, in particular, the difficult question of how to study and intervene from a public health standpoint in the criminal justice system.