EUROPRIS INTERVIEW
Arturas Norkevicius Director General of the Prison Department, Ministry of Justice, Lithuania.
In this issue, EuroPris talks with Arturas Norkevičius, Director General of the Prison Department under the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Lithuania.
EuroPris: Could you tell us about your career path? Why have you chosen to work in the prison and correctional field?
Arturas Norkevicius: The work itself has chosen me, to be more precise. The proposal to take the position of the Director General of the Prison Department was a challenge I couldn't resist.
How many Prison establishments do you oversee?
11 establishments, of them, 1 Closed Prison-Remand prison; 6 Correction Houses; 2 Remand Prisons; 1 Juvenile Remand Prison-Correction House; 1 Central Prison Hospital and 5 probation services. We also have...Click here to read the full interview. |
EUROPRIS NEWS
EuroPris Conference and Annual General Meeting
Next month, on the 16th June the third EuroPris Annual General Meeting (AGM) and conference will take place in Helsinki. The event is jointly hosted by the Criminal Sanctions Agency of Finland (RISE) and EuroPris.
On the 15th June, an evening reception and buffet dinner will be hosted by RISE in the Scandic Grand Marina hotel.
The morning conference session will involve a panel discussions on two issues that require special attention within prison settings; Restorative Justice and Family relations. The discussions will be based on presentations from a number of countries about their experiences and approaches to these topics.
In the afternoon the Annual General Meeting (AGM) will take place, this meeting is open for members and potential members of EuroPris, members of the Criminal Justice Platform and representatives of the Council of Europe and the European Commission.
The agenda and all logistic information can be found on the EuroPris website.
The conference is open to all interested parties.
Registrations open until 30th May. Register now!
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:
- Precautionary Measures in Prisons;
- Partner homicide;
- Enforcing Conditional Release;
- Sports in Prison;
- Multi-Bed Cells;
- Security Levels Within Prisons;
- Inmates with Terminal Cancer;
- Right to strike of prison staff.
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]).
EuroPris ICT in Prisons Workshop
In cooperation with the Irish Prison Service and Northern Ireland Prison Service, the second EuroPris ICT in Prisons Workshop took place on 3rd and 4th April 2014 in Portlaoise, Ireland and focused on experts working in the ICT sector of prison and correctional services.
The workshop addressed the following topics:
- Prisoner information management system;
- Use of Biometrics;
- Prisoner healthcare management system;
- Communications for inmates (e-mail and video);
- Use of mobile devices in prisons;
- Mobility, the next step: where mobility meets the custodial environment;
- Family visits by video conferencing.
At the workshop EuroPris 61 ICT prison professionals from 23 European countries exchanged latest developments, knowledge and best practice.
The presentations from the workshop are available and can be downloaded here.
Click here to download the ICT Workshop report.
European Prison Regime Forum
Stable employment is considered one of the main contributing factors to reducing recidivism; therefore maximum effort is needed to increase the employability of prisoners. Vocational qualification and structured resettlement work programs have been shown to assist in decreasing the recidivism rate. These interventions require cooperation from both 'inside' and 'outside' (prison and probation). This makes it essential that suitable training is provided in the skills which will assist offenders into employment outside of prison.
From 20 - 21 March the Annual European Prison Regime Forum took place in Lisbon, Portugal. The forum was opened by the Director General of the Portuguese Prison Service in Sintra Prison. Four workshops discussions took place on topics such as : Sustainable models of prison work/prison industries and employability skills; Involvement of prisoners in community/charitable projects in and for the community; Engagement of employers and New trends in user-centralized rehabilitation programs. 40 experts from a wide range of European countries participated in the workshops including a delegation from Peru, Guatemala, Uruguay and Panama led by the International Juvenile Justice Observatory who gave a presentation on their regional program for social cohesion in Latin America.
The EuroPris Executive Director participated at the Forum and gave a presentation about the 2013 EuroPris activities and the 2014 work program.
The official report and recommendations of the Forum will be published on our website.
Council for Penological Co-operation (PC-CP) - Working Group Meeting
The Council for Penological Cooperation (PC-CP) met in Strasbourg from 31 March to 2 April. The meeting was chaired by Mauro Palma (Italy) and vice-chair Alina Barbu (Romania). The Director General of the Criminal Sanctions Agency Finland, who is also a board member of EuroPris, Esa Vesterbacka, participated as observer. EuroPris obtained observer status to the PC-CP in 2013.
The meeting discussed four topics:
1. SPACE I and SPACE II surveys
2. Preparation of the 19th Council of Europe Conference of Directors of Prison and Probation Services
3. Development of a tool for exchange of information and data related to prisons
4. Violence in juvenile detention institutions
Extensive research on Violence in Juvenile Institutions was presented in the meeting. The research and any further measures taken as a result of it are due to be discussed in the PC-CP Plenary Meeting in Strasbourg in November. The PC-CP also met representatives of the International Prison Chaplains Association to discuss Radicalisation in Prison.
For the official summary meeting report click here.
Radicalisation Awareness Network (RAN)
Fighting terrorism and violent extremism is not only a question of increased security measures. The best prevention is to stop people from getting involved in violent extremist or terrorist activities in the first place, or to convince them to turn away from such ideas and methods. The people best placed to tackle the phenomenon of radicalization are the so called first-liners - people in direct contact with targeted individuals or vulnerable groups of population. In order to help the first-line local practitioners and to facilitate the exchange of experiences and best practices between them, the European Commission has set up the EU-wide Radicalisation Awareness Network (RAN).
EuroPris board member Peter van der Sande (Netherlands) has participated since 2013 in the working group: Prison and Probation.
The exchange within this working group focuses on
* Preventing people from getting radicalised during their stay in prison;
* Preventing society from harmful situations after radicalised prisoners are released and free of probation;
* Providing more knowledge among practitioners about recognizing radicalisation signs and about prevention / deradicalisation programs within prisons and probation.
More information about RAN, their best practices collection and reports from the working groups can be found here..
Criminal Justice Platform Seminar
The EU Directive on the protection of victims was adopted on 25 October 2012 and is required to be transposed into national legislation by the end of 2015. This Directive aims at securing victim's issues at the forefront of the minds and at the top of the agenda of the different professionals that deal with victims in a direct and indirect way. The Directive considerably strengthens the right of victims and their families to information, support and protection as well as their procedural rights in criminal proceedings. It also encourages the EU Member States to exchange best practice.
On 13 May a seminar was organised by the Criminal Justice Platform Europe (EuroPris, CEP, EFRJ) and hosted by the Ministry of Justice of Catalonia at the Centre for Legal Studies in Barcelona. At the event the Criminal Justice Platform introduced the focus of the Platform for the coming years. Victims and the implementation of the Directive will be at the core of the work of the Platform. Training, communication, cultural change and restorative justice were selected in a 2013 workshop as the main issues of the Directive to which that Platform can contribute.
Three speakers from The Netherlands, Ireland and Belgium, representing the three members of the Platform presented opinions and developments in the implementation of the EU Directive on Victims from the perspective of prisons, probation and restorative justice for an audience of academics, lawyers, police and policy makers. The seminar aimed at analyzing the impact of the Directive and at showing good practices in the implementation of the Directive. Read more on the event.
Active Inclusion Learning Network, Troubled Families Transnational Event
Active Inclusion is a European Social Fund (ESF) transnational Learning Network, funded through the European Commission. The partners of the network come from: Belgium, Germany, Greece, Italy, Lithuania, Sweden and the United Kingdom. The project commenced in June 2013, and is due to finish on 31 May 2015.
Active Inclusion held an event on 9 - 10 April 2014 in London and brought together 40 experts in the field of social inclusion from across Europe. The aim was for the experts to select six innovative and effective case studies about social inclusion for each of the four disadvantaged groups that fall under the theme 'Troubled Families': Anti-social behaviour; Offenders' families; Long term/multi-generational unemployment; Educational problems. Read more on the event. |
PRESSROOM 
- The Council of Europe has recently published it's 'Improving the treatment of prisoners' report. [read article]
- Charities to appeal after UK High Court rejects prison aid change [read article]
- 11 year olds on punishment and supervision [read article]
- Penal Reform International on health in prison [read article]
- UK court rejects extradition request due to French West Indies jail conditions [read article]
- Irish Minister publishes Prison Visiting Committee Reports for 2013 [read article]
- UK Deputy Prime Minister criticises UK Government's knife crime plan [read article]
- Prison Across Europe: National Focuses on Protocols relating to children of prisoners [read article]
- Prison Diaries: "The Road To Hell Must Be Paved With Good Intentions" [read article]
- Greece moves to tighten prison furloughs [read article]
- Measures to reduce prison overcrowding in Cyprus [read article]
- A case study of a mentoring Project in Perth Prison [read article]
- The Centre for Crime and Justice Studies has released information about its European Prison Observatory project on prison conditions. [read article]
- Books for Romanian detainees in other countries [read article]
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EUROPRIS EXPERT GROUPS
Foreign Nationals Expert meeting
Given their increasing numbers, working with foreign national prisoners' is already high on the priority list of many European countries. A substantial number of prisoners are held in countries from which they will be deported on release and here are very few examples within Europe where the receiving country has any planned services to assist with their resettlement. It is widely recognised that resettlement work should be undertaken with prisoners both during their sentence and following their release in order to secure their reintegration back into the community, to reduce the risk of harm to others and re-offending.
In 2013 EuroPris and CEP started to work jointly on this subject, gathering experts from prison, probation and academics. On 20th May a group of experts on Foreign Nationals will meet again to prepare for a workshop that is planned for 20-22 October in London and to discuss further steps that can be taken by both, prison and probation to address the issue of Foreign Nationals effectively.
The meeting is hosted by the Austrian Federal Ministry of Justice. EuroPris Executive Director, Kirsten Hawlitschek will co-chair the meeting with CEP Secretary General, Willem van der Brugge.
Framework Decision 2008/909/JHA - Transfer of Prisoners
The Expert Group on the Transfer of Prisoners under the Framework Decision 909 is planning to hold its next meeting towards the end of 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. 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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 CHILDREN OF PRISONERS
May's Feature Article
May's featured article comes from Kate Philbrick, Children of Prisoners Europe (COPE).
In this month's feature article Kate Philbrick of COPE outlines many of the problems with the current system in regard to the welfare of prisoner's children and highlights some of the possible solutions. Such solutions include; mitigating the trauma of arrest or visits to prison and recognising the importance of the rights of children of prisoners.
It is estimated that there are around 800,000 children in the European Union who have a parent in prison. Many of these children are vulnerable to the trauma or social stigma associated with this. Even those who manage to avoid the stigma still have to cope without the presence of a parent in their every day life.
A recent EU study titled 'Children of Prisoners: Interventions and mitigations to strengthen mental health' stated that 25% of prisoner's children are at risk of increased mental health difficulties.
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FORTHCOMING EVENTS
- 19-20 May, NOMS, The Active Inclusion Learning Network, The Disaffected Youth event, Stockholm, Sweden;
- 20 May, EuroPris/CEP, Foreign National expert group meeting, Vienna, Austria;
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27 May, CoE Pompidou group & WHO Conference Prison health in Europe : Missions, roles and responsibilities of international organizations , Strasbourg, France;
- 4-6 June, CEP & Central Probation Office Moldova. Conference on Community Sanctions; in Central and East European countries, Chisinau, Moldova;
- 11-12 June, NOMS, The Active Inclusion Learning Network, The Marginalised in Communities event, Athens, Greece;
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10-13 June, CDPC (European Committee on Crime Problems) Plenary meeting, Strasbourg, France;
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11-14 June, European Forum for Restorative Justice, Annual Conference, Beyond Crime: Pathways To Desistance, Social Justice, And Peacebuilding Belfast, Northern Ireland;
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13 June, The Perries Lecture, Making sense of life sentences, Warwickshire, England;
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16 June, EuroPris Annual General Meeting and Conference, Helsinki, Finland;
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16-17 June, EPAS Conference Sports and Prison, Paris, France;
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17-18 June, Council of Europe, Conference of Directors of Prison and Probation Services, Helsinki, Finland;
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23 June, EuroPris/CEP, Staff training expert meeting, Utrecht, Netherlands;
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25-27 June, European Prison Training Academy Annual Conference, Barcelona, Spain.
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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.
Would you like to share an event in the next newsletter?
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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