The Council of Europe annual Conference of Directors of Prison and Probation Services, held in Berlin on 6 and 7 June, is exploring innovative responses to challenges such as the increasing number of people with mental health problems in prison or under the supervision of probation agencies, prison overcrowding, the need to improve conditions in prisons and how to better help offenders reintegrate into society.
Speaking at the opening of the event, Council of Europe Deputy Secretary General Bjørn Berge said: “The number of people in prison and the probation system suffering from mental health problems is high and often growing. Measures are required to meet the needs of offenders with mental health issues and, at the same time, to ensure the effective functioning of prison and probation services. We are therefore developing new Council of Europe standards which address this double challenge.”
Co-organised with the German Federal Ministry of Justice, the conference brings together directors of prison and probation services from the 46 Council of Europe member states and its observer states as well as international experts and organisations. The conference will also examine how to reform the sanctioning policies by making better use of restorative justice and of alternative sanctions to imprisonment, also known as community sanctions and measures. It will also be an occasion for the participants to learn more about best practices of the different German Landers in this area and to visit German prisons. Prison and probation directors will share best practices on critical issues such as the provision of medical care (including remote medical care), dealing with offenders who have committed sex crimes or gender-based violence and tackling drug addiction.
The Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Bjørn Berge, and the State Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Justice of Germany, Angelika Schlunck, opened the conference. Alan Mitchell, President of the Council of Europe’s Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT), will deliver the closing address.
Prior to the conference, Deputy Secretary General Bjørn Berge met with State Secretary Schlunck; amongst the topics which they discussed were the outcomes of the Reykjavik Summit, the challenge of democratic backsliding in Europe and the execution of judgments of the European Court of Human Rights.
