The latest and best forensics practices will be presented to Hawaii mental health and criminal justice professionals at a conference next week at the Hawai'i Convention Center.

About 300 people are expected to attend the sixth annual Best Practices Conference next Tuesday to April 16, this year with the theme “;Responsibility and Recovery in the Legal System,”; the state Health Department reported.

Participants will do a walk-through of what someone with a mental illness might experience in the criminal justice system. The Health Department, in a news release, pointed to a significant increase in the number of cases of mentally ill residents involved with the police and courts.

National and local experts in law, mental health and corrections will speak at the sessions led by police, jail, mental health and consumer representatives. For more information, see http://www.amhd.org/conferences/2009, call 735-3435 or e-mail .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).