Skip to content

News

Promoting non-discriminatory alternatives to imprisonment across Europe: A manual for criminal justice practitioners

The project is implemented by Penal Reform International (PRI) in partnership with the University of Coimbra, Portugal and the Hungarian Helsinki Committee. The manual draws in particular on research conducted as part of the project in Hungary and Portugal, as well as training conferences and workshops held at the University of Coimbra in May 2022 and in Budapest in November 2022.

This manual was developed by Penal Reform International (PRI) together with the Hungarian Helsinki Committee (HHC) and the Faculty of Law of the University of Coimbra (UC) as part of project PRI Alt Eur: Promoting non-discriminatory alternatives to imprisonment across Europe, funded through the European Union’s Justice Programme. We would like to thank Rob Allen for his contribution to the project and the development of this manual.

This manual has been written to assist criminal justice practitioners involved in the delivery of non-custodial sanctions to find ways of ensuring that any community-based measures are used effectively and do not discriminate against minority or marginalised groups or those left uniquely vulnerable in the criminal justice system due to specific personal or background characteristics or circumstances. The manual draws on work undertaken in the context of the project PRI Alt Eur: Promoting non-discriminatory alternatives to imprisonment across Europe. The project (PRI Alt Eur, 101007466) is supported by the European Union’s Justice programme. Running from January 2021 to March 2023, it includes national and cross-European research and varied capacity-building activities aiming toward more pronounced, non-discriminatory use of non-custodial sanctions in the two focus countries – Hungary and Portugal – and across Europe. For more, visit the project website.

The manual should be read in conjunction with the presentations and resources produced and referenced at the training events. (All resources from the training are available online here.)

Click here to read the manual


More on Diversity 

More on Mental Health

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.

New

Uncategorized

Newsletter February 2026 out now

27/02/2026

CEP’s latest newsletter is out now! Articles on the CEP conference: Public Perception of Probation, Expert Network Meeting on Education and Training,  CEP Calls for EM expert group, CEP awards and more.>> Read here

 

>>Read previous newsletters

New

Probation in Europe

New Division episode: Daniel Wolter on the DBH Federal Association

23/02/2026

The 18th episode of Division_Y features Daniel Wolter, Director of the DBH Federal Association for Social Work, Criminal Law and Criminal Policy, based in Cologne, Germany.

New

Victims rights

European Day for Victims of Crime

23/02/2026

Yesterday, 22 February, marked the European Day for Victims of Crime.

At CEP, we recognise that crime causes harm to individuals and communities. Probation work focuses on accountability, rehabilitation and reducing reoffending, contributing to the prevention of further victimisation.

CEP Board

Interview with new CEP board member Jana Bewersdorff

19/02/2026

During the General Assembly in Austria, a new CEP Board got elected for the upcoming three years. In the coming weeks we will publish interviews with all newly-elected board members where they will share information on their professional background, how they would like to contribute, what challenges lie ahead and many more.

Enjoy reading!

Recap

Research

Recap: Expert group on Research

18/02/2026

The Expert Group on Research met on 17 February at the CEP office in Utrecht, The Netherlands, for its annual face‑to‑face meeting.

New

CEP members

New CEP member: Killian Evert

17/02/2026

In recent weeks, CEP has interviewed individual members and representatives of the new member organisations that joined CEP at the beginning of 2026. In these interviews, the new member organisations or individual members will share information on why they decided to become members, how they would like to contribute to the development of CEP and many more.
Enjoy reading!

Subscribe to our bi-monthly email newsletter!