Each year the European Forum on Restorative Justice (EFRJ) proposes a specific theme for the week and encourages everyone to take part in the celebrations and awareness-raising actions.
Restorative Justice Week (or RJ Week) starts every third Sunday of November, from November 19 to 25 this year, to honour and propagate the ethos of justice based on the restoration of human connection. Restorative Justice is an alternative to incarceration or statutory punishment for crime, and it is about finding a way to establish communication between the offender and the victim. For offenders, the restorative justice program offers an opportunity to take responsibility for the harm they have caused. For the victims, it aims to reduce the feeling of anger and powerlessness. The eight days are dedicated to uplifting stories, meaningful suggestions, and advocating for legislation that views crime as an outcome of a failed society rather than the action of a flawed individual.
The Restorative Justice Week 2023 will take place between 19 – 25 November 2023.
This year’s theme highlights the relevance of restorative justice when it comes to facing the great challenges of our times. It presents restorative justice as a versatile instrument at our availability that can contribute to easing or resolving conflicts weighing on us. Conflicts that we struggle with, that we find difficult to imagine how to tackle. It offers unrecognised ways to approach deeply trenched matters, new clues for starting a dialogue, making connections, building solidarity, restoring justice. It fuels our quest for better ways of living together.
For more information on the events of the campaign, click here.
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.
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.
On 6 November 2025, the CoPPer Final Project Conference took place at Het Nutshuis in The Hague, the Netherlands, marking a milestone in European cooperation and innovation in the field of probation. The event brought together 66 participants representing jurisdictions from Germany, Ireland, United Kingdom, Portugal, Netherlands, Romania, Estonia, as well as Türkiye and Japan. A clear sign of the growing international interest in the CoPPer project and its outcomes.
CEP SG Jana Spero Kamenjarin attended the 27th International Corrections and Prisons Association (ICPA) Conference, held in Istanbul, Türkiye. The conference brought together professionals, researchers, and policy experts from around the world to share insights and best practices. There were approximately 700 participants and the conference program consisted of 151 presentations.
