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CEP at the International Correctional Research Symposium at Porto, Portugal
On 27-30 March 2023 the International Correctional Research Symposium “Rehabilitating Reintegration: Research and Reflections on What Works” in Porto, Portugal took place.
Corrections is not only about the time spent in prison. Since most of the people that we incarcerate are released and returned back to their communities at some point, a significant task of criminal justice agencies is also to focus on this eventual ‘return’. From both a decency and a public safety perspective, it is pivotal that prisons and probation do all they can to assist in reintegration. But what constitutes good or effective reintegration? What does a ‘successful’ transition from custody to the community look and feel like? What can we learn from research and practice in this regard?
On the first day, Jana Špero, CEP Secretary General and Gerry McNally, CEP Research Expert Group Chair and former President of CEP, delivered a presentation on “What Works vs. What’s Right in Rehabilitating Reintegration”.
On the second day, Jana moderated a workshop on ‘Innovation and New Directions in Reintegration Practice.’ The workshop featured insightful presentations:
1)”Using EM well to promote rehabilitation and reintegration” by CEP EM prep group chair, Anthea Hucklesby
2) “A befriending project with people who left prison” by Liesbeth Naessens, University of Antwerp, Bridge Inside Outside, Belgium and Ilse Ielegems, social worker. It also allowed the introduction of information on CEP and partners of the Erasmus+ Project CoPPer;
3) “Offender Management in Custody: a lost opportunity in prisoner resettlement” by Kevin Ball and Tony Kirk, both representatives of HM Inspectorate of Probation (UK).
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