Second European conference of the CONNECTIONS project - Drugs, Alcohol and Criminal Justice: ethics, effectiveness and economics of intervention

The University of Kent is delighted to announce the Second European Conference of the CONNECTIONS Project, organised by the Conference Consortium and supported by Drink and Drugs News and Napo.

The conference will look at a range of interventions and treatments, from harm reduction to drug free ‘recovery’ in the criminal justice system. The premise is that no one treatment modality can deal effectively with the complex range of presented need. The task of the conference is to discuss and debate how best the different components can be combined most effectively.

Within the context of criminal justice systems some of the key issues for the conference will be:

• Access and equivalence – what right do service users have, are they ‘a patient or a prisoner’?
• Evidence and effectiveness – what really works and how do we demonstrate this?
• How can we reconcile different philosophies and shape a system based on choice and plurality?
• Who decides what is offered and when – how do we ensure the ‘informed consent’ and is there a place for compulsion?
• What role should and can service users play in service design and delivery?

For more information, please visit www.connectionsproject.eu or contact c.brentari@kent.ac.uk