Capacity-Building in Risk Assessment, Rehabilitation and Reintegration

In coordination with UNICRI, ICCT conducted a three-day training workshop in Bamako, Mali on Intake and Risk Assessment from August 8 - 10, 2017. This aimed to deliver an understanding of the importance of the role of correctional facilities in preparing detainees for release and reintegration into society, as well as the use of risk assessments in the prison context. 

On the first day, participants discussed the factors leading to violence and radicalisation, and various prevention and risk assessment tools. On the second day, observable indicators among radical prison populations were defined. Finally, participants identified areas for cooperation between the public prosecution and correctional services.

ICCT and UNICRI, alongside local implementing partners DNAPES, MINUSMA and UNDP, delivered a three-day training workshop from December 7-9 2016 to 34 policymakers and prison officials. This was designed to increase the participants' knowledge of the practices in Rome Memorandum, and the rehabilitation and reintegration of VEOs in prison more broadly.

From Monday 26 to Friday 27 April 2017, ICCT, together with UNICRI, organized a training workshop for religious leaders in Bamako, Mali. There were 35 participants, including youth regional representatives of religious organisations and policymakers. The training workshop focused on discussing violent extremism, the religious discourse and violent extremism in Mali and prevention strategies.

In 2017, ICCT conducted two workshops in the Philippines on 'CVE in prison - Intake and Risk Assessment and Interventions'. Over these two sessions in May, 34 policymakers and prison officials, including prison wardens, received training on prison management, and intake and risk assessment measures and interventions in the prison context.  

A final two-day training for Bureau of Corrections Staff Members was conducted at New Bilibid Prison in August 2017.  This built on past discussions to specifically set up an evaluation tool for the reformation team's interventions for VEOs.

During the second half of 2013, ICCT developed and piloted a modular training course in the area of rehabilitation and reintegration of VEOs in the Philippines, based around the GCTF Rome Memorandum on Good Practices. This weeklong training module aimed at further developing the knowledge and toolset of 20-25 policymakers and senior prison officials relating to the management and rehabilitation of these offenders, and to assist in dealing with the related threats of prison radicalisation and post-release recidivism. 

ICCT developed and implemented this training course in the Philippines together with in-house and external experts, including Major General (Ret.) Dr. Doug Stone (Senior Advisor, UNICRI), Prof. Dr. Arie Kruglanski (Professor of Psychology, University of Maryland) and Dr. Peter Bennett (Director, International Centre for Prison Studies). Following the pilot training and based on thorough evaluations including in-country follow up, the course was further refined and packaged as a modular training programme and implemented in different environments, tailored to local contexts and needs.

A follow-on training session was delivered in the Philippines in 2015: a total of 52 policymakers, prison officials and private sector professionals, focusing on greater awareness of the Rome Memorandum's principles, and international best practices on dealing effectively with VEOs.

Finally, in December 2017, ICCT facilitated a workshop on "Looking Backward and Forward" on rehabilitation and reintegration of VEOs in the Philippines. Participants, largely staff and senior figures of the Bureau of Corrections, improved their knowledge of recent national and international developments on this topic, analysed the present gaps and needs in the Philippines, and based on these made action plans for the future. 

In July 2014, ICCT was asked to assess the VEO management capabilities of the Nigeria Prison Service (NPS). The NPS identified is its critical needs as included prison gate control and management, record-keeping, case management, and training in information and communication technology. In response, a coordination trip was scheduled with the International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Agency (INL), which was already training Nigerian prison staff, to assess the current challenges and capabilities of Nigeria’s correctional system.

Based on its assessment mission, ICCT drew up a list of recommendations to coordinate efforts in the field of rehabilitation and reintegration of violent extremist offenders in prison in Nigeria. These included improving training courses on prisoner transport, vulnerability assessments, human rights-based approaches to prison management, and the management of vulnerable groups.