The 1st Working Group session tasked for conducting legal analysis and providing recommendations to the legislation relevant for the development of a Staff Management Strategy for high security units managing violent and extremist prisoners (VEPs) was held on 04 July 2019 in Trebinje.

Professionals form the respective Ministries of Justice of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Republika Srpska and individual prison establishments have initiated an extensive review of the legislative framework on execution of criminal sanctions. The reviewed legislation governing the area of selection, recruitment, and training of the prison staff, including by laws, such as book of rules on internal organisation of the prison establishments. The initial assessment will be used as a base-line for further adjustment of the respective legal framework in order to meet international requirements for recruitment, selection, training and professional development of the prison staff that is directly engaged in management of VEPs.

This session was implemented as one of the activities of the project ''Structured Sentence Management For Violent And Extremist Prisoners", funded by the voluntary contribution of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office of the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Office in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and implemented by the Council of Europe.