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The Adelaide, Australia, Police
Association is requesting new laws to end the six-month wait for medical
clearance for police officers who may have been exposed to bodily fluids in the
course of their duties. The Police Association’s position is that the person or
persons who assaulted a police officer should be required to undergo blood
tests to check for communicable diseases, as opposed to the current law, which
specifies that only the assaulted officer must be tested.
After delegates voted in favor of
the proposal at the Police Association’s annual conference, Mark Carroll, its
president, announced the association’s intention to lobby state government and
the opposition to change the law. Carroll explained that the incubation periods
for diseases such as hepatitis and HIV cause the police and their families to
endure stress while waiting months before knowing whether the officers involved
are infected or healthy.
Police statistics show that officers
were exposed to blood or other bodily fluids 110 times between April 1 and
September 30. Of these exposures, 82 were inflicted when officers were
arresting, restraining, or detaining an offender. Also, in 38 of the 110
exposures, officers were spat upon, and officers were bitten in nine. There
were two incidents in which offenders attempted to bite officers, and one
needle-stick injury occurred. Ten of the 110 offenders identified themselves as
infected with hepatitis C and three with HIV.
The Friends of AIDS Foundation is
dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and
empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV
virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit:
http://www.friendsofaids.org.
TOGETHER WE REMAIN STRONG!
