Connections Project

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‘Drugs, Alcohol and Criminal Justice:

ethics, effectiveness and economics of interventions'
Friends House, London, UK -24-25 June 2010

Report & presentations >>>

CONNECTIONS Regional seminar on criminal justice and harm reduction. Budapest, Hungary, 2-3 June 2008

Organised by the Hungarian Civil Liberty Union, in the framework of the CONNECTION project, the Regional seminar on criminal justice and harm reduction, to be held in Budapest on the 2-3 June 2008 aims at identifying possibilities for cooperation and avoiding potential conflicts between the world of drug treatment and the world of law enforcement, with special regard to the clients of harm reduction services, who constitute a target group for both law enforcement and public health services.

A report from the Drug and Alcohol Misuse in the Criminal Justice System Conference, Manchester 3 April 2008

The keynote speech to this year’s event of the Prison Health Research Network was given by Heino Stover, partner to the Connections project, who presented a range of evidence from EU criminal justice systems regarding responses to drugs and infections. Professor Stover argued that in Europe there is a need for an integrated approach to drugs and drug related infection between prison and the community. Currently there is a lack of understanding of drug dependence by prison doctors who tend to see drug dependence as something that stops at the prison gates and/or a matter of will power.

Reducing Drug Use, Reducing Reoffending

Are programmes for problem drug-using offenders in the UK supported by the evidence?

Over the past ten years, UK drug strategies have increasingly focused on providing treatment and support services for drug-dependent offenders – who commit a disproportionate number of acquisitive crimes (e.g. shoplifting and burglary) – as a way of reducing overall crime levels. This criminal justice focus has been reinforced in the recent 2008 UK drug strategy. The UK Drug Policy Commission (UKDPC) publishes a report which analyses the evidence for the effectiveness of these interventions for reducing drug use and re-offending and of the wider impact of this more prominent criminal justice approach.

Major findings from the report include:

-          The principle of using CJS-based interventions to encourage engagement with treatment is supported by the evidence.
-          Following a period of expansion and a focus on quantity, attention should now focus on quality.
-          Community punishments are likely to be more appropriate than imprisonment for most problem drug-using offenders.
-          Prison drug services frequently fall short of even minimum standards.
-          Given the sizeable investment in CJS interventions for drug-dependent offenders, we know remarkably little about what works and for whom.

The report can be downloaded from http://www.ukdpc.org.uk/reports.shtml

Health in prison: two events in France, May 2008

For the French speaking colleagues, Argelès-sur-Mer in France will host, in May 2008, two events related to health in prison.

On the 20 May 2008, Sidaction organises the 2^nd National Seminar on the medical and social follow up for HIV and Hepatitis B and C positive people at the exit from prison.

From the 21 to the 23 of May the 2^nd Summer University of Prison Medicine will take place, addressing, among others, the issue of harm reduction in prison, addiction and care for chronic infections.

For more information on the two events and for registration, contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it