The Council of Europe is helping to improve reintegration prospects for Albanian prisoners that are about to return to the community, by raising the capability of prison staff to develop pre-release plans.

With this aim, 20 prison professionals working in 10 prisons around the country and representatives of the Directorate General of Prison Administration gathered in Tirana on 14-15 October 2024 for a training focused on better reintegration of prisoners. Both psychologists and social workers increased their knowledge on how to build resilience to address stigma, develop pre-release action plans, prioritise interventions during detention and link them with the services provided in the community upon release. The training was largely based on case studies and interactive exercises and reflected also on the special needs of women in prison.

The training was conducted in the framework of the joint European Union and Council of Europe programme “Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Türkiye – Phase III”, and in particular the Action on “Enhancing the protection of Human Rights of prisoners in Albania”.