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COST Action Offender Supervision in Europe 

The work of COST Action IS1106 on Offender Supervision in Europe began on 27th March 2012 at a ‘kick-off’ meeting in Brussels and it concludes with the final conference, back in Brussels, on the 11-12th March 2016. This report reflects on the achievements over the course of four years of complex, challenging, creative and highly constructive research collaboration.

 

The main objective of the Action is to exchange, increase and deepen knowledge about offender supervision in Europe, in order to understand its development in social context, how it is constructed and experienced by those involved and its impacts and consequences.

The central rationale for the work was that offender supervision in Europe has developed rapidly in scale, distribution and intensity in recent years but that the emergence of what we termed ‘mass supervision’ (i.e. in the community) had largely escaped the attention of legal scholars and social scientists more concerned with the ‘mass incarceration’ reflected in prison growth. Argument was that this represented an important analytical lacuna for law and social science. Moreover, the neglect of supervision meant that research had not delivered the knowledge urgently required to engage with political, policy and practice communities grappling with delivering justice efficiently and effectively in fiscally straitened times, and with the challenges of communicating the meaning, legitimacy and utility of supervision to an insecure public.

Our knowledge of Interagency Coorperation

When considering the rehabilitation of persons who have committed a crime resulting in imprisonment, a critical stage of the process is when they are released to the community. This is an important moment of transition when the person needs support in several areas of his/her life. Research indicates that this transition management is crucial in the rehabilitation process. Interagency cooperation is necessary to make this process successful.
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Caseload and workload

Guidelines on Caseload and Workload

08/06/2026

CEP Expert Group on Caseload and Workload is proud announce the publication of the Guidelines on Caseload and Workload. 

Recap

Caseload and workload

Recap: Workshop on Caseload and Workload

28/05/2026

On 27 and 28 May 2026, Bucharest hosted the CEP Workshop on Caseload and Workload: Supporting Sustainable Probation Through the Human Dimension. With 40 participants representing 18 European jurisdictions, as well as delegates from South Korea, the workshop offered opportunities to exchange knowledge and develop strategies to manage the increasing caseload and workload in probation. Designed as an interactive space, it provided participants – practitioners, managers, researchers and experts – with reflections on current pressures within probation services and it explored practical, evidence‑informed solutions from across Europe.

Recap

Caseload and workload

Recap: Expert group on Caseload and Workload

28/05/2026

On Tuesday 26 May 2026 CEP Expert Group on Caseload and Workload gathered in Bucharest, Romania, for its annual face-to-face meeting, held ahead of the Workshop on Caseload and Workload: Supporting Sustainable Probation Through the Human Dimension. Hosted by the National Probation Directorate, Ministry of Justice, Romania, the meeting was opened by the Deputy Director Diana Mustatea and CEP Secretary General Jana Špero Kamenjarin. They both stressed the importance and relevance of the topic in supporting effective and sustainable approaches to caseload and workload management, contributing to improved outcomes for both staff and service delivery.

Recap

Mental Health

Recap: Third CEP webinar on the new European Mental Health Curriculum

26/05/2026

On 21 May 2026, the Confederation of European Probation (CEP) hosted the webinar “The European Mental Health Curriculum for Probation Officers”, bringing together probation professionals, mental health experts, policymakers, and practitioners from across Europe to present an innovative training initiative aimed at strengthening mental health awareness and competencies within probation services.

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Probation in Europe

New Vodcast Episode: Anke Spoorendonk on the Role of Probation in Justice Policy

21/05/2026

The 20th episode of Division_Y features Anke Spoorendonk, former State Minister of Justice in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, representing the Danish minority party SSW.

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Mental Health

CEP publishes European Mental Health Training Curriculum for Probation Staff and launches Pilot Implementation Initiative

19/05/2026

In this article, you can explore the newly published European Mental Health Training Curriculum for Probation Officers, learn about the call for a national pilot implementation, and find details about the upcoming webinar on 21 May presenting the curriculum modules.

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