On the 16th of April, the 11th edition of the Electronic Monitoring Conference started. More than 230 participants from 40 countries attended the event in the wonderful city of Zagreb. The conference was jointly organised with the Probation Service in the Republic of Croatia and the theme of this year was ‘Blurring Boundaries, making and breaking connections’.
Electronic monitoring (EM) has matured into a commonplace penal tool used widely across Europe and beyond. Its applications appear to be limitless and its purposes diverse.
As a result, it is being viewed increasingly as a panacea for a range of societal challenges within and beyond criminal justice leading to numerous uses including in the areas of mental health, domestic violence; terrorism and immigration and diverse target groups including mental health patients, children and young people, victims of domestic violence as well as offenders.
The expansion of existing and potential target areas and groups and the goals and purposes of EM has contributed to blurring of the normative and operational boundaries within which EM is used.
During the three-day event, the participants got the chance to be updated about the newest technical developments in EM, to hear the latest experiences with EM from the different probation services and to exchange ideas on the topic. Four presentations were held and in the workshops the topics were further discussed. The conference started with the “Croatian electronic monitoring build-up session”, in which the implementation and use of electronic monitoring in Croatia was explained. This session was followed by a presentation given by Prof. Anthea Hucklesby about “Blurring boundaries with electronic monitoring; (mental) health, immigration and radicalism”. On the second day Deborah Thompson and Prof. Hannah Graham presented their work about “App technologies, probation and electronic monitoring”. After their presentations, it was time for the topic Police and electronic monitoring. Presentations were held by Jeff Hudgkinson and Prof. Anthea Hucklesby. On Wednesday the 18th of April Prof. Kristel Beyens held the final presentation of the 11th Electronic Monitoring Conference, about “Electronic monitoring and the problem of net-widening”.
Workshop Blurring boundaries with electronic monitoring; (mental) health, immigration and radicalism
Workshop App technologies, probation and electronic monitoring
Workshop Police and electronic monitoring
Workshop electronic monitoring and the problem of net-widening
Presentation Croatian electronic monitoring build-up
Presentation Deborah Thompson ‘Innovation & professionals’
Presentation Hannah Graham ‘App technologies, electronic monitoring and probation’
Presentation Jeff Hudgkinson ‘Police and electronic monitoring’
Presentation Anthea Hucklesby ‘Responding to police involvement in EM’
Presentation Kristel Beyens ‘Electronic monitoring and the problem of net-widening’
Report Electronic Monitoring Conference 2018
Analysis Electronic Monitoring questionnaire 2018
You can find all the pictures that are taken during the conference on our facebook page.
Keep up to date with the latest developments, stories, and updates on probation from across Europe and beyond. Find relevant news and insights shaping the field today.
Interventions Alliance has published a new evaluation of a Hub coordinated on behalf of police forces in the south of England, focused on tackling violence against women and children through a whole family approach. The Hub supports victims and perpetrators of domestic abuse and works across policing, health and social services.
New updates from the European Commission highlight key priorities for judicial training in Europe, alongside new tools supporting transparency and access to data.
Today, 25 November, marks the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women and Girls. It is a global reminder, recognised by UNESCO and the wider international community, of the urgent need to prevent violence, support those affected by it, and strengthen collective action. The day also opens the 16 Days of Activism, a worldwide campaign that calls for sustained engagement to end all forms of violence against women and girls.
From 18-20 November 2025, 15th Plenary Meeting of the Council for Penological Co-operation took part in Council of Europe, Strasbourg. CEP was represented by President Annie Devos, Vice-Presidents Danijela Mrhar Prelic (PC-CP member) and Daniel Danglades and Secretary General Jana Spero Kamenjarin.
The CEP Expert Group on Mental Health met on 19 November 2025 to continue its work on developing a European mental health training curriculum for probation officers. Since last year, the group has been working intensively and meticulously to produce a solid first version of the curriculum.
CEP has released the first cross-European study examining stress, burnout, and morale among probation staff. The report was produced by Professor Charlie Brooker, Professor Karen Tocque, Professor Ioan Durnescu and Liliana Lupsica, whose combined expertise in public health, criminology, and organisational analysis provides an important contribution to our understanding of well-being in probation work.
