RAN PRISONS - Dealing with false or non-compliance in prison – how can different intervention strategies mitigate risk?

Background and aim of the meeting

False compliance and non-compliance can have strong negative effects on the proper functioning of risk assessment tools and the management of VETOs, both during their imprisonment and after release.  

Many known radicalised offenders in prison display compliant behaviour and follow the rules of the prison. Some participate in rehabilitation programmes and communicate openly with staff; others refuse cooperation or feign compliance. Practitioners concerned with the prison management, disengagement and rehabilitation of VETOs need targeted support and exchange of experiences, as generic interventions are insufficient to deal with supposedly disguised compliance of VETOs and/or a facade of cooperation.

While risk assessment tools and deradicalisation programmes across the EU have been making constant progress, several terrorist attacks by known VETOs in the past few years indicate the need for better tailored interventions. One such intervention is Dynamic Security, a holistic case management approach based on daily reflections on the emotional state of an inmate, which allows for observations relating to changes in their behaviour. This approach can offer a way of dealing with false and non-compliance, due to better knowledge of the inmates and their needs. 

The goal of this meeting is to identify interventions and strategies (such as triangulation, prison intelligence, or dynamic security), lessons learned and needs of practitioners in dealing with false and non-compliance, including their implications for risk- and needs management. The meeting will first explore the scale and nature of false and non-compliance and will then turn to the question of how to assess compliance based on available intervention tools and strategies.

Key questions this meeting will address include:

• What is the nature and scope of false or non-compliance of VETOs in prison settings across different MS? How big is the problem?
• How can practitioners identify and assess false or non-compliance of VETOs in and outside prison? How can the authenticity of VETOs’ behaviour be established by practitioners working with them?
• What are the implications of false and non-compliance for assessment and management of risks and needs of VETOs?
• What interventions and tools can be applied to mitigate risks and manage needs of VETOs displaying false or non-compliance?
• What are the blind spots, practitioners’ needs and possible solutions for dealing with this phenomenon?

The outcome of the meeting and its conclusions will be shared with the policy makers of the Member States and might feed into the agenda of RAN Practitioners and RAN Policy Support (Member State policy makers and researchers) and the European Commission. It is an opportunity for prison practitioners to voice their concerns and hopes for the future in a safe space protected by the Chatham House Rule.

Practitioners we are looking for are:

The target audience for this meeting directly engages with VETOs and radicalised inmates in the prison context (or aims to do so), in order to get them into programmes for disengagement, deradicalisation and resocialisation.

• Prison staff: correctional officers, prison management, prison psychologists, probation officers, mental health and social workers, including cultural and religious mediators;
• ‘External’ practitioners who work inside prisons with VETOs such as mental health practitioners, exit workers, local administrative staff and law enforcement.

In order to find the best suited participants, we would like to kindly ask you to briefly answer the following questions: 

• What is your experience in dealing with false and/or non-compliance of VETOs inside prison?
• What are the specific challenges you face?
• Can you share a story about a professional challenge or a successful strategy in assessing or dealing with false/non-compliance of VETOs in prison?

Deadline

If you are interested in participating in this meeting, please fill out this form by Friday 3 June at the latest. We will invite participants based on the information provided therein. Please keep in mind that we only have a limited amount of places available for this meeting to foster exchange, so participation cannot be guaranteed.

Please note, the meeting will be held in English (without interpretation).

If you have any further questions, please don´t hesitate to contact Alexandra Korn and Rositsa Dzhekova.