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Bushwick, Brooklyn is a community with a long history of open-air heroin markets, the markedly visible presence of heroin users, and an HIV/AIDS death rate twice that of the general population in New York City. Narcotics officers in the 83rd NYPD precinct, which serves this community, are at high risk for needle-stick injuries while frisking suspects taken into custody for drug offenses such as possession or sales. To protect the health of these officers, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene received a grant through the Fund for Public Health in New York (FPHNY) for a pilot project to provide puncture-proof gloves for the 83rd precinct. The gloves were distributed to all 40 narcotics officers and have provided appropriate protection to remove a barrier in their interface with injecting drug users.
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