The 30th CDPPS Conference will be held in 2025 (venue and dates to be confirmed).

The 29th Council of Europe Conference of Directors of Prison and Probation Services: “Human Rights, Democracy and the Rule of Law at the Heart of Prisons and Probation” was held at the Grand Hotel Millenium, Sofia, Bulgaria on 24 and 25 June 2024. It was hosted and co-organised with the General Directorate for the Execution of Sanctions, Ministry of Justice, Bulgaria.

The 28th Council of Europe Conference of Directors of Prison and Probation Services:  “Management of Prisons and Probation: New Challenges and Innovative Responses” was held at the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities in Berlin (Germany) on 6 and 7 June 2023. This event was co-organised with the German Federal Ministry of Justice.

The 27th Council of Europe Conference of Directors of Prison and Probation Services: “Prisons and Probation: Sharing and Refocusing Knowledge and Practice” was held at the Barcelo Hotel, in Sevilla (Spain) on 21-22 June 2022. It was co-organised with the Spanish Secretariat of Penitentiary Institutions. 

The 26th Council of Europe Conference of Directors of Prison and Probation Services: “Gaining an Edge over the Pandemic” was held at the VIDAMAR Resort Hotel, in Funchal on the island of Madeira, Portugal on 20-21 September 2021. It was co-organised with the Portuguese prison and probation service. 

The 25th Council of Europe Conference of the Directors of Prison and Probation Services was planned to be held in Dublin (Ireland) on 9-10 June 2020. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic in Europe and worldwide, the Conference was rescheduled instead to be held on 9-10 November 2020 by video conference (with a live webcast) to deal with the topic: “Covid-19: Challenges, Lessons and Strategies for the future".

The 24th Council of Europe Conference of Directors of Prison and Probation Services (CDPPS) discussed how new technologies influence the management of offenders in the 21st century, the positive changes brought in by them and the place of the human factor in dealing with persons in detention or under probation. The theme of this year’s Conference was “Offender Management: Tradition and Technology".

Like every year the 23rd Council of Europe Conference of Directors of Prison and Probation Services (CDPPS) has brought together about 130 high-ranking representatives of the prison and probation services of the member and observer States to the Council of Europe, international organisations, as well as renowned experts and researchers working in the penitentiary field. The theme of this year’s Conference was: “Working Together Effectively: Management and Co-operation Models between prison and Probation Services”.

Like every year it has brought together high-ranking representatives of the prison and probation services of the member and observer States to the Council of Europe, international organisations, as well as renowned experts and researchers working in the penitentiary field. The theme of this year’s Conference was “Staff selection, training and development in the 21st century”.

This conference was hosted by the Dutch Ministry of Security and Justice and the Dutch Custodial Institutions Agency. It aimed at bringing together high-ranking representatives of the prison and probation services of the member and observer States of the Organisation, as well as renowned experts and researchers and representatives of the justice sector and of the civil society. The theme of the Conference was "Community Involvement in Prison and Probation Work". 

This Conference was hosted by the Romanian Prison and Probation Services. Its topic was: “Strategic Challenges for Prison and Probation Services”.  The main aim of the Conference was to share information and experience how to manage prisons and probation services in times of economic crisis, cuts in staff and activities, whether and how opening prisons to outside agencies, private companies, civil society and the local communities could help prepare better prisoners for release without undermining safety and security.

This conference was co-organised with the Finnish Criminal Sanctions Agency and the Ministry of Justice. It brought together the Directors General of the prison and probation services of the 47 Council of Europe member states. Representatives of the States enjoying observer status with the Council of Europe, the European Union, the UN, EuroPris and the Confederation of European Probation (CEP) were also invited. The theme was: "Shared goals, shared values in prison and probation".

This Conference was co-organised with the Belgian Prison Service and the Belgian Federal Public Service of Justice and gathered together the Directors General of the prison services of the 47 Council of Europe member states.  The Directors of the European Probation Services, European judges and prosecutors, representatives of the states enjoying observer status with the Council of Europe, the European Union, the UN, EuroPris and the European Organisation for Probation (CEP) were also invited to the Conference. The theme of the event was: "How to manage the execution of penal sanctions?".

This conference took place for a second consecutive year together with the Directors of Probation Services. The theme of the Conference was: “Foreign Prisoners” and its objective was to promote the latest Council of Europe standards in this area and to discuss the tasks of prison and probation services related to the treatment, preparation for release and reintegration of foreign prisoners.

This conference with the participation of Directors of Probation Services was held in the Council of Europe. The Directors General of the Prison Administration, or their high ranking representatives, as well as the Directors of Probation Services, or their high ranking representatives in the Council of Europe member and observer states, were invited to participate in this Conference. The theme was: "Working together to promote the social reintegration of prisoners".