Within the framework of its co-operation group on “Developing comprehensive drug treatment systems in prisons in South-East Europes”, the Pompidou Group published a mapping report presenting an overview of training needs in eleven South-East European countries and available open source material (trainings and research) related to drug treatment and rehabilitation in prisons.
The report analyses the current training offer for prison staff in addressing the needs of detained people with substance use disorders (SUD) at regional level.
To conduct this analysis, a questionnaire was sent to all countries of the region and answers were received from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Cyprus, Greece, Hungary, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia and Türkiye. The report focuses on the following areas (each one of those areas is covered by a dedicated sub-chapter within the mapping) : SUD screening ; Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) ; psychosocial treatment of SUD (psychosocial interventions/programmes) ; harm reduction programmes ; other types of psycho-social support to meet the complex health and social care needs of prisoners with SUD ; SUD related training of the prison staff not directly involved in medical and psychosocial treatment ; and finally SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats).
Despite the challenges of presenting a comprehensive view of practices across different countries with different sets of approaches, this report contains a valuable set of resources, a solid analysis to understand existing practices, as well as recommendations for each one of the abovementioned areas. The report can thus be used by penitentiary administrations identifying their needs and learning from practices and approaches of other countries in the region. The identified common gaps in training offer may be addressed by the Pompidou Group’s capacity building activities under its Criminal Justice and Health in Prison Programme as well as other international projects.
Click to download the report