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25-06-2010: A successful 2nd European Conference for the CONNECTIONS project

The second European Conference of the CONNECTIONS was attended by more than 160 people from 26 countries on the 23-25 June in London.  
The conference worked around the 3 “Es” which were introduced in the opening session: Ethics, Effectiveness and Economics around which the opening speakers posed the key questions which were addressed during the whole conference. The conference brought together in this effort researchers, policy makers, service providers and users. It is one of the principles on which the CONNECTIONS project has worked: it is only from the combination of all these fields that we achieve successful policy development and service delivery.

Human rights in the sense of equivalent access to services, but also right of consent to treatment from people who are “forced into treatment” within the criminal justice system was another key area of work.  

The conference presented the point sof view of many external service providers who provided  practical examples from their countries on addressing issues related to race in the delivery of services, working with young people in the CJS, addressing issues related not only to drug treatment but also to employment, housing, social support; the role of advocacy in the development of policies and services - from changing our governments general policies on regulation and prohibition of drugs to the introduction of NEPs in European countries.

A special thanks goes to NAPO (the UK Association of Probation Officers) the EMCDDA and WHO Health in Prison Project for their cooperation in the organisation of parallel sessions.

See the conference report in the July special issue of Drink and Drugs News at http://www.drinkanddrugsnews.com Presentations will be available for download soon on the CONNECTIONS web site.
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10-05-2010 Review of the Scottish Drug Courts operations

Pilot Drug Courts were introduced in two locations in Scotland between October 2001 and August 2002. Following broadly positive evaluations of the pilot schemes in 2006 Scottish Ministers agreed to continue funding the Drug Courts for a further 3 years until Spring 2009. The purpose of this review is to assess the impact and effectiveness of the two Drug Courts, including cost effectiveness, in light of the impact of the summary justice reforms. 

To a large extent there was a good deal of support for the work of the Drug Courts from local stakeholders. The accountability to the court throughout an Order and the sanctions available to the Sheriffs are considered effective tools in the motivation of offenders to comply with the drug treatment & testing programme. The continuity of Sheriff and the specialist knowledge gained by these Sheriffs was considered a strength in the operation of the Drug Court. Stakeholders in one of the locations were of the view that the resourcing of the multidisciplinary treatment team was one of the main advantages of the funding of the Drug Court. 

The full report and findings can be downloaded at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/299438/0093354.pdf

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1-04-2010 Policy development at national and EU level: Experts’ meeting in Lisbon (22 and 23 March 2010)

Experts from across Europe attended a meeting on the prevention of drug use and HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases in prisons and the wider criminal justice system. 

The aim was to discuss and share information on EU good practices with a view to formulating recommendations to the European Commission on what works. The seminar was organised by the Connections Project as part of their work on policy development at a national and EU level in collaboration with the EMCDDA who are currently working on drug-related health problems in prisons in the EU. 

The meeting was a highly successful event with many common themes emerging from the discussions on good practices at a national level, and these will inform the recommendations being formulated by the Connections Project for the European Commission.   

More information will be available in the next Connections Newsletter.

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Nominations Invited for Paolo Pertica Fellowship 2010

Nominations are now being invited for the 2010 Paolo Pertica Fellowship along with other IHRA Awards -all of which will be presented at Harm Reduction 2010: IHRA’s 21st International Conference.

The Paolo Pertica Fellowship was established in 2004 by the European Network of Drugs and Infections Prevention in Prisons (ENDIPP). The creation of ENDIPP stemmed from Paolo Pertica’s work with prisoners from a wide range of different nationalities incarcerated in London prisons.

Read more: Nominations Invited for Paolo Pertica Fellowship 2010

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11-12-09 Press debate over methadone in prison in the UK

http://www.ihrablog.net/2009/12/european-human-rights-monitors.html
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24-11-09 Policy brief and technical paper recommends that scaling up of HIV prevention must include prisons and other closed settings

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) have published a policy brief and technical paper on ‘HIV Testing and Counselling in Prisons and Other Closed Settings’.  This paper emphasises the need for all stakeholders, including prison systems and other closed settings, to participate in the scaling up of HIV prevention, treatment, care and support as part of a comprehensive HIV programme, if universal access to HIV testing and counselling is to be achieved by 2010. 

Read more: 24-11-09 Policy brief and technical paper recommends that scaling up of HIV prevention must include prisons and other closed settings

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Prison Heath Protection: gathering of experts at the WHO conference in Madrid (28-31 October)

The annual conference of the WHO Health in Prison Project (HIPP), which gathers experts and practitioners on prison health from the wider European area took place in this year on the 28-31 October at the Ministry of Health and Social Policy in Madrid, Spain. 

The conference was organized by HIPP in collaboration with a number of partner organisations from Spain and other EU countries.  

The event was well attended by European policy makers, prison staff, criminal justice staff, health care staff, researchers, and NGO representatives who shared their national experiences and best practices. Main outcome of the conference is the Madrid Recommendation, recognising the urgent need in prisons for a set of measures, programmes and guidelines aiming to prevent and control major communicable diseases in prison. 

More at http://www.euro.who.int/prisons

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