Drexel University, USA.
J Health Polit Policy Law. 2013 Aug;38(4):709-33. doi: 10.1215/03616878-2208585. Epub 2013 May 3.
The Philadelphia Lead Court (PLC) was created as an innovative law enforcement strategy to compel property owners to comply with city health codes to remediate their properties of lead hazards, which had led to elevated blood lead levels and lead poisoning in resident children. This study presents a detailed account of and analyzes the opinions of fifteen key informants drawn from the Philadelphia health and law departments and judicial system that staff and run the PLC in response to a fifteen-question structured survey. Main themes reviewed include the effectiveness of the PLC as compared with precourt law enforcement strategies and within the context of a specialized court, the use of fines, the impact of grant funding for remediation work, the major advantages and disadvantages of the PLC, and suggested changes to improve court function, followed by key recommendations. The article concludes that our informants found that the PLC has been very effective and successful. This model could be replicated by other cities with similar health code enforcement challenges.
费城铅法院 (PLC) 的设立是一种创新性的执法策略，旨在迫使业主遵守城市卫生法规，以修复其房屋中的铅危害，这些危害已导致居民儿童的血铅水平升高和铅中毒。本研究详细介绍和分析了来自费城卫生和法律部门以及司法系统的十五位主要知情人的意见，他们作为 PLC 的工作人员和管理者，对十五个问题的结构化调查做出了回应。审查的主要主题包括 PLC 与庭前执法策略相比的有效性，以及在专门法院的背景下，罚款的使用，修复工作的赠款资金的影响，PLC 的主要优缺点，以及改进法庭功能的建议，最后是主要建议。文章得出结论，我们的受访者发现 PLC 非常有效且成功。其他面临类似卫生法规执行挑战的城市可以复制这一模式。
