New HIV prevention interventions from Latvia and Lithuania were presented during the 2nd European conference "Drugs, alcohol and criminal justice: ethics, effectiveness and economics of interventions" that took place in London on 24-25 June 2010. Natālija Praliča from Cēsis Correctional Institution for Juveniles, Latvia, informed about developing partnerships between different actors for delivery of HIV and drug education for young offenders. Kestutis Petrauskas from Lithuanian Ministry of Interior presented the new provisions for continuation of methadone therapy in police custody. Both interventions have been supported by UNODC project "HIV prevention and care among injecting drug users and in prison settings in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania".

The conference was attended by professionals and service users from health, drugs, and social care organisations, as well as probation staff, police, prison based staff and managers, academics and NGOs representatives. The conference looked at a range of interventions and treatments, from harm reduction to drug free 'recovery' and discussed how best the different components can be combined most effectively.

The key issues for the conference were:

• 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?

Additional information and conference presentations are available on the website http://www.connectionsproject.eu/conference2010.

^{From left to right: Mr. Kęstutis Petrauskas, Deputy Head, Health Care Service Division, Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Lithuania and Ms. Natālija Praliča, Social rehabilitator, Cēsis Correctional Institution for Juveniles, Latvia.}