The Project
The ‘Connections’ project, launched in Autumn 2007, managed by The European Institute of Social Services (EISS) of the University of Kent and co-funded by the European Commission Public Health Programme focuses on the potential for partnerships within criminal justice systems of the EU Member States to develop joined-up responses to drugs and related-infections, particularly HIV/AIDS and hepatitis.The three year project will facilitate the introduction and promotion – at national and European level – of more effective, comprehensive, evidence-based policies and services to respond to drugs and infections in prison and within the wider context of the criminal justice system. Public health and human rights based approaches and priorities will guide the project towards the promotion of comprehensive continuity of care.
The Background
Although drug use and related infections such as HIV/AIDS and hepatitis continue to present significant challenges for prisons, public health authorities, law enforcement and national governments, European epidemiological data on drug use and infections in prison and the criminal justice system is uneven. Available studies show that, compared with the general population, drug users are overrepresented in arrest figures and in prisons, that prisons provide for a risky environment for drug use and the spread of infections and that the criminal justice system therefore has an important part to play in reducing problematic drug use and associated public health problems.High rates of re-offending among drug users bring this particular population into frequent contact with the criminal justice system. Yet, the criminal justice systems of many EU Member States often lack expertise to respond effectively to halt the cycle of re-offending which is so common amongst problematic drug users. Effective responses include harm reduction and drug treatment in prisons, aftercare services upon release and treatment alternatives to incarceration.
International recommendations and guidelines informed by available evidence and current research call for multi-disciplinary and multi-sectoral responses to address and respond to the needs of offending-drug users and to prevent the spread of drug-related infections in prisons and thus to the community as a whole. The ‘Connections’ project aims to facilitate the design and implementation of such responses at national and European level.