Good afternoon. I want to start by thanking the witness for her presentation; it was very informative.
Your remarks once again confirmed for me that harm reduction is much more effective than zero tolerance, given that it is less repressive for inmates. When that approach is taken, inmates are much less likely to turn against guards using syringes as weapons since they do not feel quite as suppressed.
Could the syringe programs we were talking about earlier become a necessity in order to keep the public safe? I will explain. Given the long wait times for psychological support and substance abuse treatment programs, could someone who is released from prison have contracted HIV/AIDS while in prison and not know? If so, there is a greater likelihood of that person infecting the public. With that in mind, could we say that a syringe program is a necessary measure in order to protect the safety of the public, as well as the safety of guards?