CONTEXT Project aims at solving the problem of social exclusion of people with criminal past, their difficult reintegration into society and the resulting high level of recidivism. This problem has serious social and economic consequences. The issue of prison systems reform and integration of incarcerated persons into society is one of the priorities of the EU, Council of Europe and its member states. OBJECTIVES Project is focusing on support of systemic changes leading to better reintegration of ex-offenders in 4 countries – Czech Republic, Slovakia, Netherlands and United Kingdom, using the methodology of collective impact. Project is focusing on exchange of experience and sharing of best practices. Successful reintegration of ex-prisoners requires a complex approach, connectedness between the criminal justice system and social system and cooperation of diverse actors. There is a dare need for diverse stakeholders to join forces in developing, piloting and rolling out systemic initiatives that would increase the quality, interconnectedness and efficiency of reintegration services. Main objective: Support of systemic change of the criminal justice system - from a punitive towards a more restorative approach. Exchange of good practice and experience between partners working in the field of criminal justice with two aims: - improvement of cooperation between different stakeholders, mainly NGOs and state authorities based on principles of collective impact - improvement of the system of reintegration of ex-offenders METHODOLOGY In order to trigger systemic change we will work on three levels: - individual level: improving our reintegration programmes for people with criminal past and empowering them to find their way back to normal life - systemic level: initiating and improving cooperation between different stakeholders, mainly NGOs and the state - level of the society: changing the attitudes of general pubic towards people with criminal past Good practices will be disseminated in the partnership countries. PARTICIPANTS Staff from NGOs, acedemia and state institutions working in the field of criminal justice, 5 from each country/20 in total ACTIVITIES 2 transnational project meetings 4 field trips to partnership countries with participation of diverse stakeholders 1 dissemination event for 80 participants in Czech Republic Dissemination of best practices in partnership countries RESULTS DURING THE PROJECT - Setting up a core group of change makes from the 4 partner organisations/countries which will meet 3 times a year to exchange good practice and experience: 8 persons, 7 meetings - Creating national plans of transferring best practices in the 4 partnership countries, continuous evaluation of its implementation: 4 plans - Setting up a broader group of stakeholders in criminal justice in the 4 partnership countries, nominated by the core group, involved in implementing the national plans: 20 persons RESULTS ON THE COMPLETION: - Existence of partnerships of diverse stakeholders in the 4 countries helping to spread the best practices and initiate systemic change based on principles of collective impact; their cooperation will continue after the completion of the project LONG TERM BENEFITS: - higher quality and accessibility of reintegration services, reacting on main criminological factors in the particular countries - overall decrease in recidivism which leads to both economic and social benefit for the society
Main objective: Support of systemic change of the criminal justice system - from a punitive towards a more restorative approach. Exchange of good practice and experience between partners working in the field of criminal justice with two aims: - improvement of cooperation between different stakeholders, mainly NGOs and state authorities based on principles of collective impact, - improvement of the system of reintegration of ex-offenders.
Project aimed at solving the problem of social exclusion of people with criminal past, their difficult reintegration into society and the resulting high level of recidivism. This problem has serious social and economic consequences. The issue of prison systems reform and integration of incarcerated persons into society is one of the priorities of the EU, Council of Europe and its member states. Successful reintegration of people withcriminal past requires a complex approach, connectedness between the criminal justice system and social system and cooperation of diverse actors. There is a dare need for diverse stakeholders to join forces in developing, piloting and rolling out systemic initiatives that would increase the quality, interconnectedness and efficiency of reintegration services. Therefore, the project was focused on support of systemic changes leading to better reintegration of ex-offenders in 4 countries – Czech Republic, Slovakia, Netherlands and the United Kingdom, using the methodology of collective impact. The means for this was the exchange of experience and the sharing of best practices, and the subsequent dissemination of the outputs in individual partner countries.