Global Law Enforcement & Public Health Association

Dr. Katy Kamkar Ph.D. C.Psych. and NHL legend Wendel Clark explore what resilience truly looks like in high-pressure environments, from the ice to the front lines.

Wendel Clark’s memoir, Bleeding Blue (Clark & Brunt, 2017), captures the mental toll of elite sport, injury, pressure, setbacks, and the resilience required to return again and again with purpose, meaning, and hope.

Like public safety and frontline personnel, Wendel led through both performance and pain.

His story reminds us that resilience is not rigid strength. It is adaptability, emotional openness, and the courage to stay grounded in what matters most.

For leaders in public safety, health, and beyond, this piece offers practical, evidence-based tools grounded in trauma-informed principles: https://www.thesafetymag.com/ca/news/opinion/from-the-ice-to-the-front-lines/544390

Registered for LEPH2026? Don't forget your accommodation!

Campus rooms at the University of Leeds are available for £65/night (B&B), but rooms are only held until 6 June 2026.

City centre options include the Novotel Leeds Centre (from £90/night), Hilton DoubleTree (from £107/night), and Park Plaza (from £130/night). Most of these rooms are available to book at advertised rate until 6th June 2026.

🛏️ Book your accommodation in Leeds: https://leph2026.org/accommodation/

PS: Missed Early Bird registration? GLEPHA members still save with ~30% off standard rates. Register now: https://leph2026.org/

GLEPHA Fellow Highly Commended at Scottish Nurse of the Year Awards 🎉🙌

GLEPHA Fellow Dr Inga Heyman (bottom left in the photo) was named a finalist and highly commended at the 2026 Scottish Nurse of the Year Awards, in the Inspiring Excellence: Nursing Innovation and Research category.

This recognition celebrates Inga's outstanding contribution to nursing practice at the intersection of law enforcement and public health.

We congratulate Inga on this well-deserved honour! https://www.rcn.org.uk/scotland/Get-involved/ScotlandNurseOfTheYear2026/InspiringExcellenceAward

Royal College of Nursing

GLEPHA urges Pacific Police to target traffickers, not drug users

In the Pacific Transnational Crime Summit (Fiji | 18 - 22 May 2026) convened by the Fiji Police Force and the Australian Federal Police, Professor Nick Crofts AM (GLEPHA Executive Director) and Dr Jason Mitchell (Chairperson, National HIV Outbreak and Cluster Response Taskforce) urged Pacific law enforcement to focus resources on traffickers as the threat to prevent a public health disaster from the HIV epidemics, emphasising that people who use drugs should have access to health services and not be a trafficking target.

This was done as part of the Public Health Policing in Fiji 2026 program: https://glepha.com/public-health-policing-in-pacific-island-nations/

Global Law Enforcement and Public Health Association (GLEPHA) was mentioned in The Hon Tony Burke MP's overview, noting GLEPHA’s briefings on the wide-ranging health impacts of drug trafficking and community-level drug use in the Pacific: https://minister.homeaffairs.gov.au/TonyBurke/Pages/pacific-police-ministers-meeting-fiji.aspx

Ministers acknowledged the need for greater harm reduction measures and public health awareness, and the need for police to cooperate with health and social services to focus on prevention and harm reduction in the Pacific.

The Pacific is in the grip of a methamphetamine crisis, and it can no longer be ignored.

The region has shifted from a transit corridor to a consumer market. Communities are overwhelmed, health systems are stretched, and Fiji is already experiencing the world's fastest-growing HIV epidemic, partly linked to drug use.

A new policy brief from the Pacific Security College and Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime is calling for a Pacific Islands Forum-led regional summit in 2027, bringing together governments, health authorities, law enforcement, churches, and community leaders.

The message is clear: law enforcement alone cannot solve this. A coordinated, community-rooted response is urgent.

Read the brief here: https://pacificsecurity.net/media-release/new-policy-brief-urges-regional-summit-to-tackle-pacific-meth-crisis/

How can leaders create workplaces that foster psychological safety, resilience, and trust?

In an article for Canadian Occupational Safety, GLEPHA Fellow Dr. Katy Kamkar explores how a Trauma-Informed Care (TIC) framework transforms leadership.

By shifting the organizational mindset from "What’s wrong with you?" to "What happened to you?", leaders can foster genuine psychological safety, trust, and transparency.

📖 Read the full article by Dr. Katy Kamkar: https://www.thesafetymag.com/ca/topics/psychological-safety/trauma-informed-care-and-leadership/519387

Announcing GLEPHA’s new Special Interest Group on Illicit Trade and Public Health

This new special interest group (SIG) will focus on the intersection of illicit trade and public health.

Communities worldwide face escalating harms from the illicit trade of psychoactive substances which fuels exposure to unsafe products, violence, exploitation, and widens health inequities.

This SIG will investigate the root causes of these unintended impacts and work to identify solutions to overcome them.

The inaugural head of the SIG is Mark Tyndall, an infectious diseases and public health physician with extensive experience in harm reduction and drug policy.

Stay tuned for more information about this new SIG: https://glepha.com/special-interest-groups/illicit-trade-public-health-sig/

Trauma-Informed Zambia is a new initiative led by Alex Chitumbo, Danny Mwinanu Mwala, and Larry Lubinda Mooka in collaboration with Global Law Enforcement & Public Health Association (GLEPHA) and ALEPHN (African Regional Law Enforcement & Public Health Network) members.

The project focuses on strengthening trauma-informed approaches to policing, mental health, and gender-based violence responses in .

By building stronger partnerships between law enforcement and public health sectors, the initiative aims to improve community wellbeing, promote compassionate policing practices, and support safer, healthier communities across Zambia.

A practical toolkit to support the initiative is also being developed with Professor Stan Gilmour.

The project advisory board includes Dr Larissa Engelmann, Professor Stan Gilmour, Professor Inga Heyman, Rishma Maini, and Meamui Gloria Mubita.

For more information, visit:

Trauma-informed Zambia Zambia faces significant challenges within its communities, rooted in under-resourced services, discriminatory practices by state agents, high rates of trauma and disability among vulnerable populations, and weak linkages between law enforcement and public health sectors. However, the country also p...

Join the PTACC 2026 International Deflection and Pre-Arrest Diversion Summit

The Police, Treatment, and Community Collaborative (PTACC) invites you to the 2026 International Deflection and Pre-Arrest Diversion Summit:

➖ 1-4 December 2026 | Tucson, Arizona, USA
➖ Theme: Innovation and Inspiration in Deflection: Highlighting Hope, Help, and Heroes in our Field
➖ Call for Presenters: closes Friday, June 5, 2026

The PTACC Deflection Summit is the only Summit dedicated entirely to the global field and movement of Deflection. Come learn and network with peers in the field of Deflection, both nationally and internationally.

Register Now: https://ptaccollaborative.org/2026-summit/