The Danish Prison and Probation Service

Transcription

1 The Danish Prison and Probation Service De-radicalisation

2 Background Over the past ten years Denmark has seen a new group of criminals previously not encountered in Danish institutions. We now have a group of inmates in Danish prisons with radicalised views, some of them sentenced by courts for attempting terrorist acts. We have therefore had to develop new initiatives in the Danish Prison and Probation service.

3 Back on Track - a pilot project (2011) A 3-year project : May May 2014 The Danish Ministry of Social Affairs and Integration in collaboration with the Danish Prison and Probation service Working group participation from The Danish Security and Intelligence Service Co-financed by the EU commission

4 Purpose To develop and test a mentoring programme to prevent and counteract crime related to extremism, whether right wing, left wing or religious forms of extremism

5 Target group Inmates, remand prisoners and clients on parole who are indicted on - or convicted of terrorism, or whose offence is subject to aggravating circumstances, because the crime was motivated by the victim s ethnicity, political opinion, sexual orientation or similar (i.e. constituting a hate crime). The target group also comprises inmates, remand prisoners and clients on parole who are deemed vulnerable to radicalization.

6 The mentoring programme To support and strengthen the inmate s motivation to opt for a life free of crime and to build new relations in noncriminal and non-extremist environments. To focus on involving the inmate s family and social network outside of prison To assist the mentee in dealing with concrete challenges relating to re-entering into society To coordinate the mentoring programme in close collaboration with prison staff and in coordination with the existing initiatives in the institutions

7 Recruitment of mentors Primary recruitment from the existing mentor pool of the Danish Prison and Probation Service and professional network It is mandatory that the mentors have previous experience with similar types of work A group of mentors trained

8 Training content Strengthening social training skills by offering various dialogue and motivation techniques as well as coaching and conflict management skills Providing the necessary insight and tools for planning and tailoring a mentorship that accommodates the fact that the mentee is in prison or remanded in custody

9 Training content Focusing on how the mentee s family and network can be actively involved in the mentorship. Providing knowledge about de-radicalisation and extremism Providing knowledge about the prison and probation system and the corporation with other authorities, local network and NGO s

10 Outcome and lessons learned Motivational efforts required when working with the target groups Mentors can assist in creating social networks and social education for the target group and in dealing with the practical challenges, especially upon release Mentors can supplement the work and efforts of the authorities

11 Challenges Motivating the target group for engaging in the mentoring programme Recruitment of the mentors require careful selection of skilled mentors Increased need for skilled mentors Need for diversity within the mentor pool personal chemistry is important in matching the mentor and mentee

12 The procedure Introducing mentoring programme to client Metting between mentor og client, DPPS representative talk about cooperation DPPS contacts the mentor Establishing mentor s salary/allowance Follow-ups between mentor and DPPS Updating the mentor plan every 3 months Mentor reports Visitation Motivational work DPPS selects a mentor Matching confirmed Meeting between mentor, client and DPPS representative to establish mentor plan Starting the mentor programme Professional supervision and mentor training twice a year Continuous feedback between mentor and DPPS