At a glance

When	21 to 24 November 2027
Where	University of Canterbury, Ōtautahi Christchurch, Aotearoa New Zealand
Theme	Te Ara Hou: New Pathways \| Addressing critical issues in public health and safety in the Blue Pacific Continent
Co-convenors	University of Canterbury and the Global Law Enforcement & Public Health Association (GLEPHA)
Who attends	Law enforcement, public health, government, communities, researchers, policy makers, industry, people with lived experience

PLEPH2027

The University of Canterbury will host the First Regional Pacific Conference on Law Enforcement & Public Health (#PLEPH2027) from 21 to 24 November 2027.

The LEPH conferences bring together sectors that could rarely meet: law enforcement, public health, people with lived experience, and academics from many fields. PLEPH2027 brings this global movement to the Blue Pacific Continent.

We will explore new pathways for public health and safety in the Pacific. Expect global research and world-leading practice, with a special focus on Pacific Island nations, Indigenous communities and our neighbours.

PLEPH2027 is led by committee of leaders in the public health sector, communities and police from across the Pacific. The Conference aims to strengthen alternative approaches to incarceration and partnerships between police and public health to achieve human rights-based public health goals, with an emphasis on approaches that can be implemented within Pacific jurisdictions.

Why Now?

The need is urgent

Drug trafficking is rising across the Pacific. Transnational crime groups are using the region’s vast openness to move drugs, from the Americas and Asia to markets in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand. Methamphetamine use is concomitantly growing, especially in Fiji, Papua New Guinea and Tonga.¹

Fiji declared HIV a national crisis in 2026.New HIV infections rose 12-fold between 2010 and 2025. More than 42% of cases with a known cause were linked to injecting drug use.² This scenario threatens all other Pacific Island nations.

Violence against women and girls is widespread. In several Pacific Island countries, as many as one in two women have experienced intimate partner violence in their lifetime.³

Climate change is an existential threat to all Pacific Island nations and territories, requiring multisectoral responses to climate catastrophes.

Funding is shrinking

The Pacific is the world’s most aid-dependent region.⁴ In 2025, the United States announced major cuts to its foreign aid program. HIV and vaccination programs in Fiji and Papua New Guinea are among those affected.⁵

This leaves a gap in support for exactly the kind of joined-up work PLEPH2027 brings together.

Pacific leaders have committed to action

In May 2026, Pacific Police Ministers met in Fiji. GLEPHA and Fiji’s National HIV Outbreak Taskforce briefed Ministers on the health impacts of drugs and the barriers to harm reduction.⁶

Ministers agreed to promote coordinated law enforcement, health and social responses. They agreed police should target transnational criminal syndicates and strengthen lawful access to drug treatment and harm reduction services.⁶

PLEPH2027 helps turn this commitment into practice. It brings police, health workers, communities and policy makers together to share what works.

Sources

UNODC (2024). Transnational Organized Crime in the Pacific: Expansion, Challenges and Impact. www.unodc.org
UNAIDS (16 September 2026). UNAIDS to support Fiji as it declares HIV a national crisis. www.unaids.org
WHO Western Pacific (25 November 2025). Updated WHO data reveal persistence of violence against women and girls across the Western Pacific. www.who.int
Wood, T. (2025). What will US aid cuts mean for the Pacific? Devpolicy Blog, ANU Development Policy Centre. devpolicy.org
Lowy Institute (2025). Pacific Aid Map: Key Findings Report 2025. pacificaidmap.lowyinstitute.org
Minister for Home Affairs (20 May 2026). Pacific Police Ministers’ Meeting, Fiji: Outcomes Statement. minister.homeaffairs.gov.au

Questions we will tackle

How can police and health services work together on drugs, HIV and harm reduction in the Pacific?
What works to prevent violence against women and children?
How do we keep Indigenous and community-led solutions at the centre?
What role should prisons and incarceration play in a healthier region?
How do we tackle trafficking in illicit products, such as tobacco?
What actually works “on the ground”, and how do we share it?

Supporting the United Nations SDGs

PLEPH2027 will contribute to the achievement of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development Rio+20 and the 2023 Summit’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to overcome marginalisation.

	Pacific LEPH2027 will help promote healthy lives and well-being leading to peaceful and inclusive societies by an integrated approach of law enforcement and public health (SDG 3)
	Pacific LEPH2027 will help build police-public health partnerships that are effective, accountable and inclusive institutions (SDG 16)

Who should attend

PLEPH2027 is for anyone working where policing and public health meet, including:

police and law enforcement agencies
public health agencies and practitioners
government and local government policy makers
universities, researchers and students
community organisations, NGOs and affected communities
commercial partners and service providers

You do not need to be an academic. Frontline staff, practitioners and people with lived experience are very welcome.

PLEPH2027 especially welcomes delegates representing the Pacific and Indigenous voices.

Co-Convenors

University of Canterbury | Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha

https://www.canterbury.ac.nz

The University of Canterbury has been educating students from New Zealand and around the world for more than 150 years. Today, UC ranks among the world’s top 300 universities, and we’re one of the fastest-growing universities in Aotearoa. At UC, students learn from academics who are leaders in their fields, producing research that makes a positive difference in Aotearoa New Zealand and around the world.

The Global Law Enforcement & Public Health Association Inc.

https://glepha.com

GLEPHA is a not-for-profit, membership-based association. It promotes research, understanding and practice at the intersection of law enforcement and public health. GLEPHA was formally established in 2017. It grew from the LEPH conference series, which began in Melbourne in 2012 with over 300 delegates from more than 30 countries. Members receive discounted PLEPH2027 conference registration and access to 14 Special Interest Groups. Join GLEPHA.

Why law enforcement and public health?

When law enforcement and public health work together, they create a strong safety net for vulnerable people.

Here are three examples of this collaboration at work.

FIRST-RESPONDER NALOXONE PROGRAMS IN SCOTLAND

During an overdose, every second counts.

Because police are often first on the scene, public health initiatives have trained and equipped them with Naloxone, which rapidly reverses opioid overdoses.

Instead of waiting for an ambulance, Scottish officers are actively administering a public health tool to save a life on the spot.

MENTAL HEALTH CO-RESPONDER TEAMS

When someone is experiencing a severe mental health crisis, sending just a police officer can sometimes escalate the situation. Sending just a healthcare worker might pose safety risks.

Instead, a co-responder team (a police officer along with a mental health clinician) is sent.

The officer helps keep everyone safe, while the clinician de-escalates, comforts, and connects the individual with medical care instead of a jail cell.

PRE-ARREST DIVERSION PROGRAMS

People with chronic homelessness or untreated addiction are often arrested for low-level offences. This can trap them in the justice system.

Public health and policing partnerships allow officers to choose a different path: diversion.

Officers can bypass the jail cell and refer the person to health and social services for treatment, housing and long-term care.

We believe the intersection of policing and public health is where real, life-saving change happens.

We set out to bridge the two worlds with the first International Conferences on Law Enforcement & Public Health in Melbourne in 2012 to:

share evidence-based solutions
learn from world-class collaborative practice
turn global research into real-world action
build networks that drive real change

PLEPH2027 Organising Committee

Dr Melissa Jardine

International policing consultant | GLEPHA Co-founder and Fellow

View details

Professor Nick Crofts AM

Executive Director, GLEPHA