On the 23rd and 25th of May 2023, the CEP together with the Ministry of Justice of the Slovak Republic organized, under the auspices of the President of the Slovak Republic Zuzana Caputova, the Conference on Probation and Restorative Justice as Alternatives to Detention within the European Framework. 48 participants from 19 different European countries were represented at the CEP Conference in Bratislava, Slovakia.
On the first day, we received a warm welcome from the Ministry of Justice of the Slovak Republic at the Historical Building of the National Council of the Slovak Republic. The red- line through the Conference on Alternatives to Detention was mainly focused on the importance of long-term effects, and how to improve offender’s rehabilitation with respect to the strategic objectives of preventing crime, minimizing the risk of recidivism, providing solutions to crime-related conflicts, and ensuring victims are taken care of accordingly.
Even though probation has uneven development across Europe, it remains crucial to keep the conversation going between different levels of the Criminal Justice System to enhance communication between probation staff and service clients. Mainly, due to the constant changes within the criminal policies, technology, and treatment programs, it remains of additional value to share knowledge and exchange information among professionals in the field, since there are many challenges that might lay ahead of us. However, if we work together, the voice for probation will become stronger and probation in conjunction with mediation will turn lives around for the better of themselves and their respective communities.
Effective communication as a basic professional skill, Mr. Jānis Zārdiņš, State Probation Service, Latvia
Probation services as evolving organizations, Mr. Goran Brkic, Ministry of Justice and Public Administration, Croatia
Probation and alternatives in Europe – overview, Ms. Iuliana Cărbunaru, Ministry of Justice, Romania
Drug Court as a Substitute to Detention, Ms. Ingunn Seim, Norwegian Correctional Service, Norway
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From 18-20 November 2025, 15th Plenary Meeting of the Council for Penological Co-operation took part in Council of Europe, Strasbourg. CEP was represented by President Annie Devos, Vice-Presidents Danijela Mrhar Prelic (PC-CP member) and Daniel Danglades and Secretary General Jana Spero Kamenjarin.
The CEP Expert Group on Mental Health met on 19 November 2025 to continue its work on developing a European mental health training curriculum for probation officers. Since last year, the group has been working intensively and meticulously to produce a solid first version of the curriculum.
CEP has released the first cross-European study examining stress, burnout, and morale among probation staff. The report was produced by Professor Charlie Brooker, Professor Karen Tocque, Professor Ioan Durnescu and Liliana Lupsica, whose combined expertise in public health, criminology, and organisational analysis provides an important contribution to our understanding of well-being in probation work.
On 12 and 13 November 2025, CEP Secretary General Jana Špero Kamenjarin participated in the Multilateral Meeting on Women in Prison: Advancing Gender-Sensitive Policies and Practices, at the Council of Europe in Strasbourg. The meeting brought together representatives from 40 member states, penitentiary administrations, and international experts, united by a shared commitment to improving rehabilitation, reducing re-offending, and promoting gender equality in places of deprivation of liberty.
This book, Forensic Social Work – Supporting Desistance, has been released by Routledge. It is a practice-oriented resource exploring how forensic social work can support desistance and foster meaningful change in the lives of justice-involved individuals.
The 16th episode of Division_Y features Stephan Leißner, a public probation and parole officer at the Coburg Regional Court in Bavaria, Germany.
