Employment is known to be a key factor in helping to reduce re-offending. Research confirms that this social reintegration is directly linked to re-entry into the labour market and prison workshops aim to fulfil a key role in providing and maintaining essential work habits (ExOCoP Policy Forum Berlin (2012); Allan and Steffensmeier (1989); Uggen’s (2000); Visher, Christy, Sara Debus and Jennifer Yahner(2008); Latessa, Edward (2012)).Prison systems, across Europe aim to provide more prisoners with the skills and motivation to turn away from crime, improve their employability, and become productive members of society. The focus is to provide inmates with the chance to learn the skills need to get a job upon release. Prison industries seen as “professionalized” prison work are nowadays at the spotlight in several European countries.European economic crisis has generated financial restrictions in European prison systems. In addition, many European prison services face overcrowding. Besides these trends, prison systems have to manage how to comply with the respect of human rights and European rules. Costs per inmate are expected to increase sharply in the forthcoming years putting huge pressure to prison systems which need to address these challenges with less public resources, namely from state budget.One opportunity arising can combine inmates’ preparation to labour market return with prisons’ own funds increase. Prison Industries provides a supporting role to prison establishments, for the management of their industrial workshops. It facilitates and coordinates the in-house production and supply of essential clothing and goods for internal consumption, providing essential employment for prisoners and opportunities for them to gain skills, qualifications and work experience to improve their employability prospects upon release. The importance of prison work and industries at the European scene has been reinforced by different EC reports, and by the conclusions of the XVIII European Prison Research Forum held in Lisbon in March 2014.Prisons staff is highly trained in legal, security, psychology, social work and other support domains, but is commonly understood the lack of entrepreneurship, business development and management, marketing, design and communication and marketing skills. “Business” orientation is critical to engage with companies or to have a rational use of prisons’ existent resources.The project is based on the concept of ecological economics and on the ecological model of social work. Ecological economics is related to the question of economic activities sustainability with scarce resources and the need to reduce the throughput, which is achievable by enhancing the productivity of the resources in hand. On the same line, the ecological model of social work looks for alternative answers to the reintegration process, mobilizing the scarce resources at hand.Project’s transnational dimension facilitates the exchange of experiences between partners. It will facilitate the dissemination of best practices and enrich offenders’ labour market re-entry integrated strategies. This project gathers in its consortia Prison Administrations from different countries, universities, training organizations and private companies, aiming to develop a work-based joint curricula - to be delivered in a blended learning format using ICT, intensive short-term training courses addressing prison work initiatives and management skills, namely: prison work and industries awareness; marketing, management, innovation in public correctional organisations, entrepreneurship, communication, ICT and teamwork. The course will be complemented by the development of pilot actions that will create two teams, in one or two prisons per country, supported by: knowledge exchange with ICT platforms; the establishment of a community of practices/knowledge; short-term transnational trainings and other events with the goal of setting at least one prison work initiative in each participating prison.Project specific goals:1. Create 1 joint curricula: work-based VET training courses to promote inmates reintegration throughout prison work initiatives, by developing staff management skills, namely: prison work and industries awareness, marketing, management, innovation, entrepreneurship, communication, ICT , ecological economics and teamwork in prison staff;2. Train 36 prison staff, in 3 countries, in multidisciplinary teams of 6 members (2 per country), with 3 short-term transnational training events, to develop and implement innovative „prison work” actions engaging at least 20 inmates per country;3. Improve community and businesses participation in staff and inmates labour reintegration actions by engaging key stakeholders and experts in national seminars, validation workshops, transnational events and involvement in trainings' pilot actions

"Prison services are being continuously challenged by society to deliver a complex mission: implement judicial sanctions, keeping society safe of harmful individuals, preparing the inmates for reintegration in the society and to prevent recidivism. Prison staff, not only social reintegration specialists are challenged to comply with this complex mission, but only a minority have specific qualifications in educational and social sciences. Prison personnel consist in its majority of prison guards (officers), which have mainly surveillance responsibilities, and administrative staff. Normally, these staff groups did not attended in specific transversal skills training courses. But they interact with inmates on a daily basis and can provide critical inputs to their daily life in custody. The absence of specific training actions has an impact in the introduction of innovative educational practices and actions. Taking into consideration this reality, the project was created and implemented in order to develop the transversal skills of prison staff from different departments. During the project implementation, the activities contributed to innovation and improvement in prison education. The project goals which were achieved: developed new, innovative and multidisciplinary approaches to prison staff teaching and learning for enhancing innovation, entrepreneurship, communication, ITC and teamwork skills, to stimulate entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial skills of prison educational staff, guards and administrative staff and to facilitate the exchange, flow and co-creation of knowledge trough a work-based joint curricula, piloting, conjoint training sessions and other activities. The project consortium gathered 8 partners from 5 countries: Penitenciarul Timișoara-Romania, Centrul pentru Promovarea Învățării Permanente-Romania , Universitatea de Vest din Timişoara-Romania, Departamentul Instituțiilor Penitenciare- Republic of Moldova, Qualify Just - IT Solutions and Consultancy Lda-Portugal, Ceza Ve Tevkifevleri Genel Mudurlugu Turkey(General Directorate of Prisons and Detention Houses), European Organisation of Prison and Correctional Services(EuroPris) –Netherlands and Universidade Da Beira Interior-Portugal. The project partners conjointly worked on developing three conjointly curricula - these were delivered in a blended learning format using ITC, including intensive transnational short-term joint staff training events on: innovation and entrepreneurship, communication, ITC and teamwork. Within the courses there were integrated activities towards creating pilot actions targeting inmates participation, supported by knowledge exchange on ITC platforms, community of practices/knowledge, study visits and other events. The project impact and the achieved results were:1. 3 new conjointly curricula and training programs to develop skills such as: innovation, entrepreneurship, communication, ITC and teamwork competencies for prison staff;2. 146 prison staff were trained in innovation, entrepreneurship, communication, team work and ITC in order to increase their professional level and implement innovative education actions with inmates. The courses included transnational short-term joint staff training events. The impact of the training activities was of a high level, the trainees achieved new knowledge, developed the targeted skills which became useful for their daily work, exchanged good practices and experiences in international teams.3. 18 new education actions with 386 inmates were developed and implemented having a real impact in the improvement of prison education;4. 11 intellectual outputs were produced, 9 centered directly on innovation in prisons: “Staff training need analysis”, “Training course curriculum and program: Develop prison staffs’ innovation"", ""Entrepreneurship for prison staff-training course curriculum and program”, “Communication, ITC and teamwork competencies in prison- training courses curriculum and programme contents”, ”Conjoint learning management system”, “Conjoint manual Develop prison staffs’ innovation"", “Conjoint manual Entrepreneurship for prison staff”, “Conjoint manual Communication, ICT and teamwork competencies in prison” and “Education and Training innovative actions catalogue”. For ensuring the efficacy of the dissemination and exploitation strategy and assuring outputs quality, the “Dissemination plan report” and “Quality and Evaluation Report"" were developed.5. 10 multiplier events were organized-4 seminars and 6 validation workshops; the participants contributed at the improvement and the evaluation of the outputs. The project will have longer term benefits because the produced intellectual outputs will be used in the future for life long training of prison staff. Also the last product contains a description of the implemented innovative educational pilot actions with inmates and will be used by education departments to improve the reintegration programs for inmates."

Worldwide more than 10.74 million people are currently being held in penal institutions and the global prison population rate is increasing. Mental illness is prevalent in prison populations, by far exceeding the rate of mental disorders in the general population. Prisoners are also a high-risk group for suicide and self-harm. These mental health issues are exacerbated with age: over 20% of adults aged 60 and over suffer from a mental or neurological disorder. As the world’s population ages rapidly, the number of the elderly in jails and prisons is increasing as well, at an exponential rate of 3 times that of the general prison population. Palliative care (PC) and dying with dignity are considered human rights to those who need essential pain treatment. This topic is even more important considering that the prison population is getting old and that there are negative attitudes about compassionate release. The aim of the project was to increase the response to mental health disorders within prisons and the quality of palliative and end of life care services provided by enhancing the competences of management and frontline staff to address prisoners’ mental health needs and the special needs of older prisoners. The project includes a partnership composed of 8 public and private institutions working in mental health, geriatrics and in corrections. The strategic partnership brings together multi-agency and cross-sectorial agencies (a PC foundation- HCS, 4 prison administrations – DGRSP, ANP, FOD Justitie, a private company specialized in prison staff training & innovation- IPS, a health sciences faculty- UBI, a university hospital- Helse Bergen, and the European representative of prisons and corrections-Europris) to develop new, innovative and integrated approaches to the field of adult education in prison and probation settings. In order to achieve the project objectives, MenACE partnership undertook the following activities: a state of the art and best practices review was made in the fields of mental health, ageism and PC, with a clear focus on these realities in the prison environment (IO1). Particularly, a questionnaire was developed to collect information in the partner countries. The literature review and collection of approaches underpinned the development of the second and third intellectual outputs, namely the training curricula and program (IO2) and the e-learning training course (IO3), addressing the current and future needs of prison staff in 3 key areas of learning: mental health, geriatrics, PC in prison. The integrated training program was designed to be delivered on a blended format, combining an e-learning course with classroom sessions. In parallel, a train the trainer course (IO4) was developed with the aim of ensuring dissemination and sustainability of the proposed approach over time. All outputs were piloted and fined-tuned by the Romanian, Belgian and Portuguese Prison Services. In the end, the partnership delivered a European roadmap with policy recommendations (IO5), that presents transversal and specific proposals regarding staff training, legal framework and services / resources / infrastructure for the 3 areas under analysis: mental health, geriatrics and PC in prison. The following tangible results were achieved during the project: 1 state of the art and best practices report• 1 panel of experts• 1 training toolkit• 1 training guide with detailed competences, skills and indicators• 6 training courses (The essentials of prison health, Mental health in prison, Geriatrics in prison, Palliative care in prison, Staff health and well-being in prison and Dynamic security) •1 learning management system•1 train the trainer course• 1 European roadmap with policy recommendation• 3 course manual• 304 participants to 6 multiplier event • 71 participants in the short term joint staff training events•133 trainees in the piloting of the training program and e-learning course.The project’s results contributed to the development and enhancement of prison staff’s transversal skills. All participants gained new knowledge and tools which are helpful and useful for their everyday work-related challenges and for the effective identification, supervision and care of prisoners. In specific an enhanced capacity of staff to recognize and manage mental health disorders• an improved capacity of staff to identify prisoners at risk of particular distress and anxiety• a greater awareness of age-related needs and challenges regarding social rehabilitation of older inmates• an improved healthcare and palliative care in the targeted prisons• a beneficial impact on the quality of life of prisoners and an improved diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders and age-related diseases in correctional settings. Further, as long-term results, we expect to raise awareness among policy makers about these important challenges that are part of public health.

Prisons are often described as “breeding grounds” for radicalisation and violent extremism, since they are highly unsettling environments in which individuals are more likely than elsewhere to explore new beliefs and associations. Deprived of their existing social networks and given the conditions of their confinement, prisoners with no previous involvement in politically motivated violence are vulnerable to being radicalised and recruited into terrorism. A key driver of radicalisation prevention in prisons is the training and awareness raising of the staff. First line workers have been identified as a key group that can make an important contribution to this issue and include prison and probation staff.Radicalisation Prevention in Prisons (R2PRIS) Project seeks to reduce radicalisation and extremism inside prisons by enhancing the competences of frontline staff (correctional officers, educational staff and psychologists, social workers) to identify, report and interpret signals of radicalisation and respond appropriately. Specific goals included:1. Create awareness on the broad picture of terrorism, the mind set and narratives used by understandingwhy prisons are a breeding ground for radicalisation; the difference between conversion, radicalisation and moving to extremist views (terminology); the pathways and levels of radicalisation, role in the network; recruitment tactics employed within the prison environment; and indicators on how to identify vulnerable people at risk of radicalisation;2. Develop the tools and instruments for prison administration and line-level staff to recognise signs of radicalisation at an early stage within their specific facility;3. Provide common, consistent and effective instruments to help staff report their observations to the appropriate intelligence staff;4. Provide model procedures for intelligence staff to vet the data they receive from prison staff and to appropriately interpret it;5. Establish a series of training programmes and tools for all staff within a prison to respond appropriately to potential vulnerable individuals at risk of radicalisation.Participating Organisations:R2PRIS project promoter:​BSAFE LAB law enforcement, justice and public safety research and technology transfer labUniversity of Beira Interior, PortugalIPS_Innovative Prison Systems, PortugalBelgian Federal Public Service of Justice​, BelgiumEuroPris - European Organisation of Prison and Correctional ServicesThe Netherlands​ICPA - International Corrections and Prisons Association (European branch), The NetherlandsNorwegian Correctional Service, Kriminalomsorgen, ​NorwayNational Administration of Penitentiaries (NAP), RomaniaRomanian Centre for Penitentiary Studies​Universitatea De Vest Din Timisoara (UVT), RomaniaTurkish Prison Administration (Turkey)Main activitiesThe main activities developed along the project implementation term were:Management activities (including project management and evaluation and project meetings);Intellectual outputs (six foresseen intellectual outputs, including written documents, assessment tools, e-learning programs and an online repository);Transnational training activities - Three 1-week staff training events;Dissemination Activities: six multiplier events took place, plus several dissemination activities.ResultsThe following results were achieved during the R2PRIS project:An innovative methodological framework for analysing radicalisation and prevention of radicalisation strategies within prison;A radicalisation screening tool, with respective assessment materials and guidelines for prison administration, line-level and technical staff to recognise signs of radicalisation at an early stage within their specific facility. The tool will be adapted to the specific legal and cultural context of the countries involved in the project;A training course for all staff within a prison on how to detect and respond appropriately to potential vulnerable individuals at risk of radicalisation;An e-learning training course;A train the trainer course;Five national seminars and an international seminar;A handbook and online repository of best practices on radicalisation prevention in prisons, than can be used by trainers;Three short-term transnational staff trainings. Impact and long term benefitsImplementing the developed tools that allow prison staff at different decision levels to assess inmates vulnerabilities and risk of engaging in radicalisation and violent extremism;Having prison staff that is aware and knowledgeable of inmates’ vulnerabilities as well as the radicalisation process;Training front-line, technical and management staff in the field of radicalisation and assessment of risks related with inmates’ radicalisation and vulnerabilities that can be found in the prison itself, using the developed training programs and assessment tools

In the EU, there are more than 588 940 citizens imprisoned. Every day, more than 203 772 prison officers (PO) work to ensure safety to society and to provide inmates with opportunities that ease their reintegration process back to society. In fact, particularly in the last decades, prison officers’ role has changed, evolving from o strictly security-oriented role (ensuring security, order, physical integrity, and respect) to a combination of custodial and treatment functions. In this context, the PO21_European Prison Officers for the 21st Century project is developing a strategic approach to skills development, identifying existing and emerging skills needs, strengthening the exchange of knowledge and practice, promoting relevant qualifications and supporting their recognition, adapting vocational education and training (VET) to skills needs, promoting qualification standards for work-based learning and planning the progressive roll-out of the project among prison officers. A particular focus is given to digital skills as they are increasingly important to Prison Officers.During the first half of the project, DACUM workshops took place in the partner countries, a European Survey to prison officers was developed and collected, to date, 300 answers and desk research was performed, collecting data from 21 countries in Europe regarding PO’s training. Together, the three mentioned research activities (DACUM workshops, survey and desk research) allowed the project partners to have a clear picture of the current and future role of PO in partner countries and adapt the curriculum proposal to those needs. Therefore, the developed work will ensure the successful development of a training curricula that will be piloted and fine-tuned during the second half of the project. Additionally, the collected data is integral to the recommendation paper for re-thinking prison officers’ training that is being developed.