Summarising the Certification Course on Counter-Radicalisation and Extremism
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Radicalisation and extremism have become major issues in today’s world. People with extreme views frequently run afoul of the law, and as a result, they end up in prison, care institutions, or under the supervision of social workers. In response to this challenge, we organised a Certification Course for representatives of the Polish Prison Guard, probation officers, psychologists, and social workers in June 2022.
The event was divided into two parts. The first was held online on June 9th, and the second was held in Poznan, Poland on June 22nd-23rd. During the meeting, many important aspects, best practices, and European experiences with the related topic were discussed. One of the most important issues addressed by speakers was the multidisciplinary working environment for prison staff and probation officers. It aims to provide staff competencies that will assist in correctly analysing the behaviours of prisoners while taking into account a variety of factors.
Furthermore, the participants were introduced to RPAP tools (Radicalisation assessment in prison) and the rules governing their use. A lot of emphasis was placed on re-socialising extremist criminals in order to reintegrate them into society. The speakers also emphasised the importance of understanding prisoner release programs, as well as relevant strategies and methods for implementing and evaluating them. Both speakers and participants agreed that Polish and European prison system representatives and probation officers should have the opportunity to learn directly from experts.
“It’s very crucial for participants to talk about this topic in a preventive way. They may not face this problem very often now during their works with inmates. But having this knowledge earlier, will allow them to be aware how to behave and who should be informed in case of dealing with radicalised persons”, said Pedro Liberado, a representative of the IPS Innovative Prison Systems from Portugal and one of the event’s speakers.
The Certification Course was organised in cooperation with the mentioned IPS Innovative Prison Systems and the University of Beira Interior from Portugal. The meeting was held as part of the European R4JUST project aimed to create and raise awareness on the broad picture radicalisation and violent extremism. More details about it can be found here.
