The deadly attacks in Madrid (2004), London (2005), Glasgow (2007) and Stockholm (2010), followed by the foiled attempts and arrests in Copenhagen (2010) and Berlin (2011) and the recent attack in France (2015) have all contributed to move back the issue of violent extremism and radicalisation up on the European political agenda. Prisons are often described as “breeding grounds” for radicalization 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. While the extent of the problem remains unclear, the potential for prison radicalisation is significant, and the issue clearly needs to be addressed. A key driver of radicalization 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. Radicalization Prevention in Prisons (R2PRIS) Project seeks to reduce radicalization 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 include: 1. Create awareness on the broad picture of terrorism, the mind set and narratives used by understanding a) why prisons are a breeding ground for radicalisation; b) the difference between conversion, radicalisation and moving to extremist views (terminology); c) the pathways and levels of radicalisation, role in the network; d) recruitment tactics employed within the prison environment; and e) 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 recognize 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. Bringing together international experts in the field of radicalisation and national prison administrations, R2PRIS project offers an innovative training programme for prison staff on how on how to recognise and prevent the process of radicalisation inside prisons. The project's target group is composed of 180 prison professionals from 5 different countries (Portugal, Norway, Turkey, Belgium and Romania) which will undergo a training programme with 5 components and 160 sessions of 3 hours per course: class, online, short-term staff training, work-based assignments and coaching/consultancy. An e-learning course will be developed and also a train the trainer course. Three short-term staff training events will also be conducted. To disseminate the project's results, 5 national seminars and one international seminar are foreseen. As short-term effects, the trainees will gain the necessary knowledge and tools to recognise and prevent the process of radicalisation inside prisons. The potential positive and long-lasting impact of R2PRIS project are the increase of awareness of prison systems in Europe to the issue of radicalisation, and the reduction of radicalisation and violent extremism in the community.
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 understanding why 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 lab University of Beira Interior, Portugal IPS_Innovative Prison Systems, Portugal Belgian Federal Public Service of Justice, Belgium EuroPris - European Organisation of Prison and Correctional Services The Netherlands ICPA - International Corrections and Prisons Association (European branch), The Netherlands Norwegian Correctional Service, Kriminalomsorgen, Norway National Administration of Penitentiaries (NAP), Romania Romanian Centre for Penitentiary Studies Universitatea De Vest Din Timisoara (UVT), Romania Turkish Prison Administration (Turkey) Main activities The 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. Results The 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 benefits Implementing 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