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EUROPRIS INTERVIEW
Esa Vesterbacka Director General of the Criminal Sanctions Agency (RISE), Finland.
 In this issue, EuroPris talks with Esa Vesterbacka, Director General of the Finnish Prison and Probation Administration (Criminal Sanctions Agency).
EuroPris: Could you tell us about your career path? Why have you chosen to work in the prison and correctional field?
Esa Vesterbacka: Criminality as a phenomenon already held an interest for me when I was a student. After working as a prosecutor I wanted to work in an environment which would be more down-to-earth and versatile. Therefore, I applied for a post as the Director of K�yli� Open Prison, which led on to me working in several different positions in prisons, in the Ministry of Justice and now in the Criminal Sanctions Agency.
How many Prison establishments do you oversee?
We have 15 closed prisons, 11 open prisons and as the duties of the Riminal Sanctions Agency also include the enforcement of community sanctions we oversee 15 community sanctions offices too. In addition, we have ...Click here to read the full interview.
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EUROPRIS NEWS
AGM Conference
EuroPris hosts STEPS2 Resettlement first project board meeting
 The first STEPS 2 Resettlement project board meeting was hosted by EuroPris, 14-15 May in The Hague. The project, led by the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) is exploring the successful transfer of offenders under the Framework Decision 909. This project follows on from the iSTEP project which concluded in May 2013 and focused on the mutual recognition of community sentences between Member States under the FD 947.
Additionally, the STEPS2 project will also take a close look at the best methods for transferring offender data and developing information for Victims, Offenders and Staff. Read more
Annual Conference, Children of Prisoners Europe
On 16 May the Annual Conference of COPE (Children of Prisoners Europe) was held in Edinburgh and was attended by EuroPris Executive Director, Kirsten Hawlitschek.
The conference entitled "No-one's ever asked me" saw several NGOs presenting their work in this field. The conference highlighted the need to raise awareness on the significance of this issue, the limited provision which is currently available to assist children of detained persons in the criminal justice system and the need for research to evidence the effect that parental detention has to children. At the event the publication "Children of Imprisoned Parents European Perspectives on Good Practice" was launched. It features a range of initiatives, expertise and good practice. Read more
Annual Conference Victims Support Europe, Warsaw, 15 - 16 May2014
From 14 to 17 May the Annual Conference of Victims Support Europe took place in Warsaw. EuroPris was asked to contribute to the workshop session "Partner organisations and their approach to Victims" at which 60 international experts participated. EuroPris was represented by Jan Bouman from the Netherlands with a presentation on "Making the Dutch Custodial Institutions Agency Victims Oriented". He emphasized that the most urgent need identified by victims was for adequate information to be available. Read more
European Committee on Crime Problems CDPC
From 10 to 13 June EuroPris participated for the first time as an observer at the meeting of the Council of Europe, European Committee on Crime Problems. With representatives from the Ministries of Justice of all countries of the Council of Europe, issues such as new forms of crime, involvement of juveniles in acts of urban violence and a white paper on transnational organised crime were discussed. The PC-OC working group gave a report on their monitoring work with regard to the implementation of Council of Europe instruments in criminal matters. And the PC-CP introduced the upcoming conference of Prison and Probation Directors in Helsinki and presented the latest SPACE statistics.
Council of Europe Conference of Prison and Probation Directors CDPPS
The 19th Council of Europe Conference of Directors of Prison and Probation Services entitled "Shared goals, shared values in Prison and Probation" was held on 17 and 18 June 2014 in Helsinki. It was co-organised by the Finnish Criminal Sanctions Agency and the Ministry of Justice.
Sub-topics that were discussed at the Conference were:
- The right balance between control and care, offender engagement and prison and probation work related to desistence;
- Need for quality evaluation in prison and probation;
- Management of prison and probation services: What is important?
On behalf of EuroPris a presentation was delivered by Gill Attril of NOMS on "Creating safe, decent and rehabilitative environments: from local innovation to whole system improvement".
European Penitentiary Training Academies
The European Penitentiary Training Academies (EPTA) was established in 2008 as an informal network with the aim of promoting the exchange of knowledge and experiences among its members. EPTA holds an annual conference at which representatives of the 18 members participate. This year's conference took place from 25 to 27 June in Barcelona and was hosted by the Centre for Legal Studies. EuroPris Executive Director was invited to start the discussion with the EPTA members on the possibility of ways of future cooperation between EuroPris and EPTA. The discussion will be continued in the coming year to prepare a possible decision on this matter at the next conference.
Forecasting Workshop
The first Forecasting Workshop was an initiative of the North-West Roundtable of Correctional Excellence and organised by the Swedish Prison Service in 2012. EuroPris was asked to organise a follow-up meeting and agreed with the Norwegian Prison and Probation Service to host the 2nd workshop on this topic at their training Academy KRUS in Oslo on 13 and 14 November 2014. Currently EuroPris develops with experts from Sweden, The Netherlands, Belgium and Norway the contents and agenda of this workshop. Possible topics to explore during the workshop relate to capacity planning, trend breaks, big data and linking forecasting to policy. Please check our website and next newsletter for the publication of the draft agenda and registration for the event.
European Prison Information System (EPIS)
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The European Prison Information System is an initiative of EuroPris and was created for the purposes of enhancing transparency, inter-jurisdictional cooperation and to prevent duplication of commonly requested data.
European prison data
FOR
European prison agencies
What is the system for?
This resource was created by EuroPris to provide a central knowledgebase of European Prison Agency information.
Who is the system for?
The system is FOR European Prison Agencies, only prison staff can access the system using their institutional e-mail.
Who is putting data in the system?
Prison staff themselves are filling in the data for their National Prison Agency.
Why is EuroPris doing this?
For the betterment of European Corrections.
If you are prison staff from a European Prison System, access the system by registering on our website with your institutional e-mail.
BE A PART
Until now 8 European Prison Agencies have filled in their data into the system. If your National Prison Agency wants to contribute by filling in their data, create an account and contact the EuroPris Office Manager, Rodica Popa.
EuroPris Knowledge Management System
This system allows National Prison Administrations to contact EuroPris with a query or request for information. Respondees will have access to all responses and can collate the information as applicable to them. EuroPris has relayed questions to the European National Prison Agencies and created reports on the following topics in the past two months:
- Inmates labour;
- Alternative pre-trial detention;
- Mentally disabled offender.
If your National Prison Administration is member of EuroPris and would like to relay a query within the wider European network, or should you wish to enquire about past reports, please contact the EuroPris Office Manager, Rodica Popa ([email protected]).
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PROJECT NEWS
SOMEC Final Conference
In January 2013, the United Kingdom in conjunction with partners from The Netherlands, Latvia and Catalonia, commenced a two year long European Union (EU) funded project focusing upon Serious Offending by Mobile European Criminals (SOMEC).
The SOMEC project responds to a number of high profile cases across the EU involving EU nationals with a prior history of serious offending who have committed further serious crimes in a different Member State. It also reflects public concern that greater co-operation should exist across the EU to enhance public protection interventions, in order to prevent serious and high risk offenders from committing further offences, should they move to another Member State. Project partners and the European Commission are supporting SOMEC to address this perceived gap in public protection and identify practical ways of improving EU wide safeguards to protect citizens from the most serious and high risk offenders within the EU. Read here for the latest newsletter and information on the final conference.
Active Inclusion Learning Network
The Active Inclusion Learning Network is an ESF funded project which aims to enhance the employability and employment prospects of socially disadvantaged groups. It provides an opportunity to share different policies and programmes from various EU countries and learn, through comparing these, what will work, and then disseminate these findings to all. It will identify where and what type of support is required for the different groups focused on and what policies work best, offering the best chance of success. It will identify tools and develop strategies for dealing with these groups
The target groups for this project, and the themes running through this network, are:
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Disaffected Young People (under 25) - Concentrating on NEET (Not in Employment, Education or Training)
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Marginalised Communities - Drug and Alcohol Abuse; Offenders and ex-offenders; Mental health, physical and learning difficulties
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Troubled Families - Multi-generational unemployment; Offenders families; Anti-social behaviour; Educational difficulties
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As well as looking at gender specific issues in these areas
The Network has now completed the first round of expert meetings.Link here for the overview report on progress to date.
Strategic Targeting of Recidivism through Evaluation and Monitoring
STREAM is a project funded by the European Union through the Directorate General for Justice and itwill build a European network for continuous learning and development in reducing re-offending and protecting the public. To achieve success, this requires a focus on evaluation and development of evidence based practice across a range of offender services and organisations.
Through continuous learning and networking STREAM will support EU justice organisations to work more effectively. An evaluation guidance document along with recommendations to assist services in identifying factors to achieve results will enhance effectiveness of interventions and build more efficient correctional services. Guidance will cover offender programmes, interventions and offender engagement. STREAM has now completed most of its project deliverables and is planning its final conference. Link here for the draft agenda and invite letter.
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PRESSROOM 
- French right on warpath over Socialists' prison reform bill [read article]
- Scotland Clampdown on prison lie detector tests [read article]
- UK Ministry of Justice recruits reserve prison officers [read article]
- UK Prisons inspector accuses ministers of prisons 'failure' [read article]
- Dutch Prison system to lose a further 700 jobs [read article]
- UK Justice Secretary, Chris Grayling, has ordered Young offenders face strict lights-out by 10.30pm, TV-off regime from August [read article]
- Over 300 Inmates in Greece Continue Hunger Strike [read article]
- Council of Europe anti-torture Committee publishes report on Poland [read article]
- Danish Justice Ministry considering women-only prisons [read article]
- 'Put more prisoners out on tag' says Prisons Chief - The Scotsman [read article]
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TO GET THE LATEST NEWS FROM THE EUROPEAN PRISON AND CORRECTIONAL ARENA
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INTERESTING ARTICLES
- Ex-offender: First two to three days of prison was shock [read article]
- Why are young people re-offending in England and Wales? [read article]
- Six problems faced by the European prison system [read article]
- Reintegrating offenders: Helsinki conference discusses measures by prison and probation services [read article]
- Secretary General Jagland commends Italy for its efforts to stop prison overcrowding [read article]
- Is a prison sentence always the solution? Penal Reform International resource [read article]
- Prisons across Europe: lessons to be learned from UK's neighbours [read article]
- Critics say French penal reforms 'coddle jihadists' [read article]
- 6 Reasons Why Prison Is Better In Europe Than America [read article]
- Report: Serbia prisons most crowded in Europe [read article]
- The Lionheart Foundation launch Free Online Prison Volunteer Training Program [read article]
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EUROPRIS EXPERT GROUPS
Foreign National Prisoners Expert meeting
On 20th May an expert meeting on Foreign National Prisoners (FNP) took place in Vienna. The meeting was jointly organised by EuroPris and CEP and hosted by the Austrian Ministry of Justice. At the meeting representatives from 4 European organisations participated; the organisation Prisoners Abroad, The University of Nottingham and the directors of CEP and EuroPris. The aim of the meeting was to develop a strategy (short term/long term) to put the issue of Foreign National Prisoners on the agenda of European Probation and Prison Services; to define tangible and manageable goals and results and to select a limited number of activities that can be realised by the work of the expert group in the coming year. Read more
Staff Training Expert Meeting
EuroPris and CEP jointly organised the second expert meeting on staff training on 23 June in the premises of CEP in Utrecht. Training experts from 5 European Prison and Probation Services, Avans University Netherlands and the directors of CEP and EuroPris participated in the event. The meeting focused on the evaluation of the staff training workshop that took place in December 2013, where topics such as Burn out/Resilience, Motivation, E-learning, Selection of Staff and Quality Measuring were discussed. Based on this evaluation the experts decided to organise the next CEP/EuroPris staff training workshop in 2015 on the topic of e-learning - why to develop, how to develop, what to develop and who should be involved. Read more
Framework Decision 2008/909/JHA - Transfer of Prisoners
The Expert Group on the Transfer of Prisoners under the Framework Decision 909 is holding its next meeting on 23rd to 24th September 2014. The meeting will be held in conjunction with the European Commission and the new STEPS 2 Resettlement project which EuroPris is involved with. The Expert Group meeting will be held in Brussels at the Head Quarters of the Belgium Prison Service and the Brussels office of EuroPris. Link here for the draft agenda
For further information please read the next edition of the EuroPris newsletter. In the meantime to keep up to date with the current situation, See the latest State of Play on the implementation of the EU Framework Decisions 909, 947 and 829.
The EuroPris expert group on the transfer of prisoners developed the FD 909 prisoner transfer information form. The use of this form is recommended when transferring a prisoner between member states under the Framework Decision 909.
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JULY'S FEATURE ARTICLE - Brighter Futures
This months feature article is a report by the Prison Reform Trust called 'Brighter Futures', it looks at reducing women's offending. The foreword by John Long QPM, Deputy Chief Constable introduces the article by saying; The disproportionate impact of incarceration on female offenders is well documented, as is the reality that a significant proportion of women in the criminal justice system are, or have been, victims of crimes themselves. We know that children who have been separated from their mothers, or taken into care, as a result of her offending or imprisonment are at increased risk of offending or having poor educational, health and other outcomes themselves. Approaches aimed at reducing these harmful consequences must surely be supported. Click here to link to the full article
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FORTHCOMING EVENTS
- 1-2 September, PC-CP (Council for Penological Co-operation), Mecklenburg, Germany;
- 3-5 September, Final JCN (Judicial Cooperation Network) Project Conference, Rostock, Germany;
- 1-4 October, EPEA Decision Makers Meeting "Policy and Quality in Education in Prison", Tallinn, Estonia;
- 2-3 October, Prisons of the Future - work session 1, The Hague, Netherlands;
- 20-21 October, EuroPris / CEP workshop Foreign Nationals, London, England;
- 22-24 October, CEP Project - Final Conference STREAM (Strategic Targeting of Recidivism Through Evaluation and Measurement), Valetta, Matla;
- 26-31 October,ICPA Conference, Windhoek, Namibia;
- 5-7 November, CEP Project - Final Conference SOMEC (Serious Offending by Mobile European Criminals); click here for flyer
- 6-7 November, Improving conditions related to detention (EuroPris project),ERA (Academy of European Law) Conference, Trier, Germany;
- 20-21 November, CEP Project - European Circles Conference, Barcelona, Spain;
- 1-4 December, CDPC (The European Committee on Crime Problems), Strasbourg, France;
- 11-13 December, CEP Electronic Monitoring Conference, Frankfurt, Germany.
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 GET INVOLVED WITH EUROPRIS
Would you like to see an article of yours in the next newsletter?
If you have something you would like to broadcast to a wider European audience then here's your opportunity - email your article to us for review and inclusion in our future newsletter editions and/or our website.
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If you have an event relevant for European Correctional Services you would like to disseminate to a wider European audience then email the event details to the Office Manager and it will be added to the next edition of the newsletter.
Interested in getting involved?
If you have the skills or knowledge relevant to any of our expert groups then we want to hear from you, please contact us with your details, area of expertise/knowledge and how you would like to get involved.
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