Previous Article
News
Looking back on the first CEP International Conference on Sex Offender Management
On the 22nd and 23rd of November 2018, delegates from all over the world gathered in Riga for the first CEP International Conference on Sex Offender Management. It was a very successful first edition. A lot of knowledge sharing and networking was done by the participants during these two days. The conference was organised in close cooperation with the Latvian State Probation and Prison Service.
The conference was officially opened by CEP Secretary General Willem van der Brugge and Imants Jurevičius, Project Manager of the Latvian State Probation Service and CEP Vice-President. After the opening it was time for two plenary presentations. Audrey Alards, chair of the CEP Sex Offender Expert Group, presented the results of a survey that was carried out by the group. Mechtild Höing presented the concept of Circles of Support and Accountability (COSA).
The second part of the first conference day existed of workshops. The participants were split up in four groups and participated in two workshops each.
In the plenary session that followed, Imants Jurevičius and Anvars Zavackis told the participants about the creation of a specialised system for working with sexual offenders in Latvia.
The first day of the conference was concluded with a round table on risk management that was chaired by Kieran McCartan, Programme Manager of the International Conference on Sex Offender Management. He asked the four experts Imants Jurevičius, Wineke Smid, Marianne Fuglestved and Mechtild Höing on their opinions on several risk management related questions.
The programme of the second day included two plenary speeches. Wineke Smids presentation was about the treatment of sex offenders and Marianne Fuglestved told the participants about the Danish supervision model MOSAIK.
Official Launch Circles Europe
Before the start of the programme on the second day of the conference, a special event took place: the official launch of the Circles Europe Association. Riana Taylor, Audrey Alards, Mechtild Höing and Ann Castrel explained to the participants why they set up the organisation, what their main goals are and finished with inviting them to make a donation and become a member of Circles Europe.
For more information about Circles Europe, please visit their website.
Presentations
The presentation that was held by Laura Kuhle during the workshop ”The practicalities of doing risk assessment’ will not be published on the CEP website. The conference reports will be added to this article later on.
Presentation Audrey Alards ‘Presentation of sex offender survey data’
Workshop Kieran McCartan ‘Understanding and re-framing sexual abuse’
Workshop Maggie Brennan ‘Understanding and working with people who use child sexual abuse material’
Presentation Wineke Smid ‘Sex Offender treatment: who, what and how?’
Pictures that are taken during the conference are available on the CEP Facebookpage.
Kieran McCartan, programme manager of the CEP International Conference on Sex Offender Management wrote an interesting article about it on his blog.
Related News
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.
Recap
Probation outside Europe
Governance Oversight and Accountability Mechanisms in Probation and Parole: Compare and Contrast Europe and USA
19/09/2025
Confederation of European Probation (CEP) and American Probation and Parole Association (APPA) organized an insightful webinar that introduced the theme “Governance oversight and accountability mechanisms in Probation and Parole. Compare and contrast Europe and USA”. This event took place on Thursday, 18 September 2025.
Recap
CEP Events, Framework Decisions
Recap: Expert Workshop on Framework Decision 2008/947/JHA and 2009/829/JHA
16/09/2025
The Expert Workshop held on September 10–11, 2025, in Brussels, Belgium, brought together senior managers, probation practitioners, criminal justice professionals such as lawyers and prosecutors from across Europe as well as representatives of the European Commission, Academy of European Law and European Judicial Network to discuss the advancements in the implementation of Framework Decisions 2008/947/JHA and 2009/829/JHA. Hosted at the Houses of Justice, the CEP Expert Workshop served as a dynamic platform for mutual learning, collaboration, and strategic planning.
New
Probation in Europe
New Vodcast Episode: Katharina Heitz on the Ressources-Risk-Inventory in Probation
11/09/2025
The 14th episode of Division_Y features Katharina Heitz, Head of the Central Department for Social Work at the Public Probation and Parole Service Baden-Württemberg, Germany.
Recap
CEP Board, Probation in Europe
CEP at ESC 2025: Penal Policy Transfer and Ageing in Prison in Focus
08/09/2025
The Confederation of European Probation (CEP) had a strong presence at the 25th Annual Conference of the European Society of Criminology (EUROCRIM 2025), held in Athens from 3 to 6 September 2025. As one of Europe’s largest gatherings of criminologists, the ESC annual conference brings together researchers, practitioners, and policymakers from around the world to exchange knowledge on crime, justice, and social responses. This year’s theme was “Logos of Crime and Punishment,” inspired by classical Greek philosophy.
Probation in Europe, Technology
Have Your Say: EU Call for Evidence on the Digitalisation of Justice (2025–2030)
18/08/2025
The European Commission has opened a Call for Evidence on the Digitalisation of Justice: 2025–2030 European Judicial Training Strategy.
Reading corner
Criminal Justice
Parole Futures
18/08/2025
At a time when many parole systems are experiencing considerable strain, the aims of this collection are twofold: first, to encourage systematic and critical reflection on the rationalities, institutions and practices of parole. Second, to think big, and pose ambitious ‘what if’ questions about the possible futures of parole and prison release. Offering novel insights from Asia, Australia, Europe, North America and South America, this collection builds the case for, and then showcases, a ‘way of doing’ parole research that is global in outlook, interdisciplinary in approach and unapologetically normative in character.
Subscribe to our bi-monthly email newsletter!
- Keep up to date with important probation developments and insights.