Narratives of experts by experience: A journey from criminal to expert

The 17th episode of Division_Y features Christoph Koss, Director of the NEUSTART Association for Probation and Parole, Restorative Justice, and Social Work in Austria.

Supporting desistance while managing risk is at the heart of criminal justice social work across Europe. In Forensic Social Work – Supporting Desistance, editors Jacqueline Bosker, Anneke Menger and Vivienne de Vogel bring together scientific insights and everyday professional practice to support those working with justice-involved individuals. In this interview, they reflect on the motivation behind the English edition of the book, its core themes, and how professionals can use its tools and approaches in their daily work.

There is an urgent yet insufficiently recognised human-rights and public-health crisis unfolding across Europe: the systematic imprisonment of mentally ill individuals who have already been assessed by courts or psychiatric professionals as requiring treatment in secure psychiatric hospitals rather than confinement in correctional facilities. Evidence indicates that structural failings—including bed shortages, procedural delays, and fragmented legal and administrative frameworks—have produced a situation in which thousands of vulnerable individuals remain in prison in direct contravention of judicial orders, clinical assessments, and international human-rights obligations. This constitutes a largely invisible mental-health scandal, obscured by inconsistent data collection, political sensitivities, and the general invisibility of people in custody.

On 10 December 2025, at the CEP Headquarters in Utrecht, CEP and RESCALED signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aimed at strengthening cooperation in areas of mutual interest. The MoU was signed by Rogier Elshout, Chair of Rescaled and Jana Špero Kamenjarin, CEP Secretary General, with the signing ceremony attended by Helen De Vos, Rescaled Executive Director and Daniel Danglades, CEP Vice-President.

Through this partnership, both organizations will work together to develop joint activities, exchange expertise, and support initiatives that advance their shared objectives.

This MoU reflects a commitment to transparent communication and the creation of new opportunities for joint projects and broader community impact.

CEP champions human rights because protecting dignity, fairness and equality is at the heart of effective probation. On 10 December, Human Rights Day, CEP celebrates the principle that everyone deserves respect and justice. Across Europe, CEP promotes social inclusion and supports the reintegration of people in contact with the criminal justice system. CEP strengthens community-based alternatives to imprisonment that reduce reoffending and build safer societies, advances professional and ethical probation practice, and connects practitioners, policymakers and researchers to share knowledge and promote humane justice. For CEP, justice is not only about punishment but also about opportunity, rehabilitation and respect for all.