On 25 September 2020, the piloting of the Individual Treatment module for radicalised inmates was launched in prison Shtip, under the guidance of a Council of Europe consultant, and will last up to 6 months.
Throughout the past year, a working group consisted of experienced prison practitioners and representatives from the Directorate for Execution of Sanctions, was assisted by an international consultants in developing the programme for radicalised and violent extremist prisoners (VEPs), alongside with the revision of the VEP-specific screening and the in-depth Risk and Needs Assessment tools.
As a result, an extensive set of VEP tools and mechanisms was developed, which will help the dedicated prison professionals in identifying signs of radicalisation among the prison population, assessing the needs of the VEPs, working on their disengagement from violence and preparing them for release.
The activity is organised under the auspices of the Action “Enhancing the capacities of the penitentiary system and the external oversight mechanism in North Macedonia”, co-funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe within the “Horizontal Facility for Western Balkans and Turkey 2019-2022” and implemented by the Council of Europe.