1.       Opening of the meeting and adoption of the agenda

Mr Johnny Connolly (Ireland), replacing the absent Chair Ms Lidija Vugrinec (Croatia), opened the meeting. The draft agenda is reproduced in Appendix I. The list of participants is reproduced in Appendix II.

Participants decided not to hold an open-ended working party with the objective to define a public awareness raising campaign on QCT and other alternatives to imprisonment, as originally foreseen in the draft agenda, due to lack of funds for such an activity in the 2010 budget.

2.      QCT and other alternatives to imprisonment with regard to drug-dependent offenders

Presentations were made on the differences and approximation of perceptions of QCT from a law enforcement and a public health point of view by Ms Maria Peglitsi, Cyprus Anti-Drugs Council on the Pilot Project “Fred Goes Net” (Cyprus) and Dr Lucia Nunes Dias, Institute for Drugs and Drug Addiction on their Pilot Project (Portugal). The Italian presentation could not be held due to the absence of the presentor, who sent her apologies..

The project in Cyprus concerns a selective prevention programme conducted in 19 countries called "Fred", which was initially tested in Germany. The aim is to encourage young persons aged 14 to 24 possessing or using drugs to attend awareness-raising courses.

The Portuguese presentation showed how the law has evolved over forty years: initially essentially enforcement-based, then increasingly concerned with health aspects and recent decriminalisation of drug use.

Mr René Padieu (France), on behalf of the Ethics Platform (following the joint meeting of the Criminal Justice and Ethics platform in October 2008) presented an indicative list of questions that he considered suitable for discussion and possibly for a common activity of joint platforms. In the ensuing debate, some potential questions were preliminarily and tentatively identified: disjunction between objectives and practice in QCT, consent to care, decriminalisation, collection of data on persons arrested after their passage through the judicial, educational or therapeutic is completed.

Mr Tim McSweeney (United Kingdom, consultant) presented the 2009 study undertaken by the Institute for Criminal Policy Research, King’s College London, on the impact of quasi-coerced treatment on re-offending in one English region in particular with regard to the interview data with law enforcement and public health personnel. The research used a control group with a view to assessing the effectiveness of an alternatives to prison programme, particularly in terms or reducing reoffending: results fairly inconclusive but a longer period needed.

Presentations are made available on the PG – Criminal Justice platform website.

In the ensuing discussion, the following proposals concerning further QCT-related activities by the Criminal Justice platform were put forward and reached broad agreement amongst participants:

-       to prepare a future publication reviewing the past ten years which would focus in particular on the issues of monitoring and evaluation of QCT and also on guidelines for training for professionals;

-       such a publication should identify guidelines on criteria of effectiveness of QCT measures and to disseminate them;

-       a future meeting should invite presentations on measuring the impact of drug law enforcement and also on the impact and effectiveness of drug law reforms.

3.       Pompidou Group Criminal Justice Matters – future perspectives

Mr Thomas Kattau (Executive Secretary a.i.). informed the platform members about proposals for the revision of working methods of the Pompidou Group that are presently discussed on the level of the Permanent Correspondents. The proposals include new ideas as to how to organise the work of the Pompidou Group under the future Work Programme 2011-2014. At core of the proposals is an overall review of the Platform concept and its feasibility, including the work of the Criminal Justice Platform as well as the other Platforms. The proposals under discussion suggest possible new working methods, e.g. ad hoc expert groups, which could more effectively serve policy makers' needs.

He called upon the members of the platform to reflect on how to efficiently translate the findings of their work of the 2007-2010 Work Programme into policy advice for the Ministers on the occasion of the Ministerial Conference 2010. He underlined the need to submit digestable findings on: what works, how to make it work, adverse effects and costs effects. He also informed the platform that budgetary means available in 2010 provide for one meeting of a core group with the task to prepare final conclusions of the Criminal Justice platform and ideas for the new work programme. This preparatory work can later be approved in a final plenary meeting of the platform in May/June 2010.

The platform participants decided to set up the core group comprising Sylvie Vela (France), Lars Meling (Norway), Kathleen Ordnung (Germany), Tim McSweeney (QCT-consultant, in writing), Brendan Hughes (EMCDDA) and, last but not least, Johnny Connolly in his role as the consultant of the group. The core group’s task will consist in fine-tuning the proposals made on future activities with a view to assisting the platform in preparing guidance for the Permanent Correspondents.  The group will fix the exact dates for a meeting in February in a written procedure.

4.     Recidivism

The author of the Dutch study, Mr B. Wartna, in the framework of a series of national studies on recidivism (an inventory of large-scale recidivism research in 33 European countries), presented the general differences in the research methods used in this context. He introduced the work of the European Research Group on National Recidivism Data and explained the Pilot Project set up in England and Scotland to synchronise research methods with a view to setting standards for reconviction research. The presentation can be found on the PG – Criminal Justice platform – website.

Participants agreed to continue to work on the issue of recidivism, on the one hand by investigating the existing measures in different countries to measure recidivism rates and to also consider the findings of criminological and qualitative approaches to this issue. The expert from Portugal offered to commission a study for 2011 on the recidivism of drug traffickers and users in Portugal using the “life course method” (without any costs for the PG attached to it). The platform expressed its gratitude for this generous offer.

As a first step in identifying what data is currently available, Mr. Warna (Netherlands) offered to use his research network in order to find out what kind of data on recidivism have already been gathered in member States. Mr. Hughes (EMCDDA) offered to draft – in cooperation with Mr. Wartna - a questionnaire to be sent to the counterparts in the recidivism network. On the basis of the results gathered, further qualitative research could be undertaken in the framework of the new work programme.

5.     Precursors

Mr. Kattau (Executive Secretary a.i.) informed the participants about the results of the Conference on backtracking investigation, evidence collection, sanction and prevention of drug precursor diversion organised under the auspices of the Criminal Justice platform in Bucharest in March 2009 and the French proposal to hold annual conferences on the subject, currently under examination of the Permanent Correspondents.

Mr. Rocha (Portugal) expressed his view that the issue of precursors should be dealt with in the framework of the PG Airports Group.

6.   Any other business

None

7.   Date of the next meeting of the Criminal Justice Platform

Participants agreed to hold their next meeting on 26/27 May 2010.

1.       Opening of the meeting and adoption of the agenda

Introduction of the participants

2.      QCT and other alternatives to imprisonment with regard to drug-dependent offenders

Presentations on the differences and approximation of perceptions of QCT from a law enforcement and a public health point of view together with representatives of the public health system

-       Mrs. Maria Peglitsi, Cyprus Anti-Drugs Council on the Pilot Project “Fred Goes Net” (Cyprus)

-       Dr Lucia Nunes Dias, Institute for Drugs and Drug Addiction on their Pilot Project (Portugal)

-       Dr Carola Parano, Osservatorio Permanente sulla Criminalita Organizzata on the Pilot Project “Together for Social Recovery and Re-integration” (Italy)

Presentation by Mr. Tim McSweeney on the 2009 study by the Institute for Criminal Policy Research, King’s College London, on the impact of quasi-coerced treatment on re-offending in one English region in particular with regard to the interview data with law enforcement and public health personnel

Presentation by Mr. Réné Padieu “Observations and questions on quasi-coerced treatment”

Exchange of views:    At their last meeting participants agreed to explore further the following areas:

-       How to collect evidence on the effectiveness of QCT?

-       How to compare the relative effectiveness of QCT to imprisonment, also with regard to successful re-integration?

-       How to assess the cost-effectiveness of QCT programmes, in particular residential treatment?

-       How to address the confidentiality problem?

-       Which elements to be covered in the agreement between client and criminal justice system?

-       How to determine the consequences of non-compliance with the treatment provisions?

3.       Pompidou Group Criminal Justice Matters – future perspectives

Intervention by Mr. Thomas Kattau, Executive Secretary a.i. (Thursday 10/09/09 at 14h).

4.     Recidivism

National studies on recidivism - an inventory of large-scale recidivism research in 33 European countries - general differences in the methods used.

Presentation of the findings by the Dutch author of the study, Mr B. Wartna.

Debate and decision on the platform’s future investment in the subject of recidivism, in particular concerning the promotion of a study on drug-related recidivism across Europe.

5.     Precursors

The Co-ordinator will inform the participants of the results of and the suggested follow-up on the conference on back-tracking, collection of evidence, sanctions and prevention in the area of precursor trafficking, 26/27 March 2009, Bucharest.

Debate

6.   Any other business

7.   Date of the next meeting of the Criminal Justice Platform

Public awareness and perception with regard to QCT and other alternatives to imprisonment

An open-ended Working Party comprising delegates from Romania, Norway, Cyprus and

Mr Tim McSweeney may meet in the margin of (possibly late afternoon of Day 1) the CJ platform meeting in view of defining a future activity on the subject taking into account that no budgetary funding is available for such an activity in 2010.