The evidence from other countries shows that MSIFs do not increase drug use, drug dealing, or crime in the areas in which they are located. This is largely because they are located in areas where injecting is already occurring in public spaces.

One of the aims of the MSIF is to reduce the level of drug litter in the area currently, and international experience suggests this will be one outcome of the service. In Sydney, public injecting and injection-related litter reduced by half following the opening of the MSIF, while in Barcelona the area surrounding the MSIF saw a fourfold decrease in the number of unsafely disposed syringes being collected in the vicinity.