This brochure introduces the work of the Criminal Justice and Prison Programme of the Pompidou Group – by giving a voice to both leading experts and people who have survived drug dependence and experienced hardship in prison. We hope that this will show the way towards human drug policies and practices in Europe and their impact on crime rates, people’s health and human rights.

Furthermore, we present the approach of the Pompidou Group to link research, practice and policy. The Pompidou Group provides extensive and substantial expertise on strengthening the capacity of its member and partner states to implement domestic criminal justice and drug policy reforms in line with Council of Europe standards in the fields of human rights, democracy and the rule of law. Pompidou Group actions focus on the development and improvement of national legal frameworks (policy) and on the enhancement of the professional skills (practice) and knowledge (research) of both partners and national stakeholders.