Foreign Nationals in Prison & Probation

The CEP & EuroPris Foreign Nationals in Prison and Probation Expert Group evolved from organisations in Europe who supported their nationals imprisoned abroad which met together in the 1980s. In 1993, they formed the European Group of Prisoners Abroad and in 2007 became a Special Interest Group of the CEP. With the creation of EuroPris, the joint CEP & EuroPris Foreign Nationals in Prison and Probation (FNPP) Expert Group was established. This Expert Group is unique in Europe, comprising representatives from organisations working with their nationals imprisoned abroad, universities as well as experts nominated from the EuroPris and CEP membership.

The aims of the Expert Group are wide, covering the objectives of organizations, statutory and voluntary, working with their nationals imprisoned and on community sanctions abroad as well as foreign nationals of other countries, imprisoned or on community sanctions in their country. These needs are complementary and produce a shared perspective with common objectives and purposes focused on effective rehabilitation and resettlement, and the reduction of the risk of reoffending, based on European and international instruments, guidance and recommendations with a human rights perspective. The CEP & EuroPris FNPP Expert Group works collaboratively to improve the management and resettlement of FNPPs in European prisons by assisting in the collection, sharing and dissemination of information that provides value to interested individuals and groups, and CEP and EuroPris members.

The purpose of the Expert Group is to promote better national regulation and best practices for foreign national prisoners in Europe through the exchange and dissemination of information on the policy, operational practice, training and management by prisons, probation and the voluntary sector regarding foreign offenders and prisoners. It has done this through; organising European Workshops in London 2014, Brugge 2016, The Hague 2018, and a webinar in 2021, expert members highlighting and promoting the issues at European meetings such as the Council of Europe PC-CP 2015, CEP DG Conference 2016, undertaking research on FN-only Prisons and implementation of CoE Recommendations 2012 (12), collating a Table of Recommendations and Practices, running a training day for prison managers and prison staff trainers promoting the CoE Recommendations on Foreign Prisoners and being a partner in relevant EU Projects such as the Erasmus+ Foriner Project. The group has also produced Special Edition Foreign Prisoners Newsletters in 2017 and 2020.

Duration: 2013 - Present

Status: Ongoing
Coordinator: Petra Pavlas

Major Contributions

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Group Members

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Report concerning foreigners in prison and under probation supervision in Europe funded by the EU and CoE

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Professor Marcelo F. Aebi of the University of Lausanne and his team have produced an important report recently on the situation of foreign national offenders in the prison and probation setting in Europe, based on their SPACE data for the Council of Europe PC-CP.

Foreign offenders in prison and probation in Europe; Trends from 2005 to 2015 (inmates) and the situation in 2015 (inmates & probationers), dated 3^rd December 2018, consists of a descriptive longitudinal study presenting the data currently available on the number of foreigners in prison populations and under the supervision or care of probation agencies in the 47 member states of the Council of Europe.

View the reports here: www.coe.int/prison

Table of CoE Foreign Prisoners Recommendations with Good Practice Examples

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The Council of Europe’s Recommendations concerning foreign prisoners CM/Rec (2012) 12 were adopted to help national prison services focus on the special needs of foreign prisoners and to think of ways to provide such prisoners with opportunities equal to those of other prisoners. In particular, it seeks to improve the regime foreign prisoners are subject to, alleviate their isolation and facilitate their treatment with a view to their social reintegration. These Recommendations ask that Governments of Member States be guided in their legislation, polices and practice by the rules contained in these Recommendations.

To promote the implementation of these Recommendations, the joint EuroPris & CEP Foreign Nationals in Prison and Probation Expert Group has collected examples of how European prison and probation services are addressing the needs of foreign prisoners and foreign offenders in policy, practice and principle based on the CoE Recommendations. The examples of prison and probation practice in the ‘ Table of CoE Foreign Prisoners Recommendations with Good Practice Examples’, are recorded next to the relevant CoE Recommendation, with a brief description of the initiative, information on whether it is a national, regional or local initiative, the legal basis and budgetary implications of the initiative and contact details to obtain further information. Should you know of any initiatives which could be included in the Table, please provide information to the EuroPris secretariat at [email protected].

Click here to view the Table of CoE Foreign Prisoners Recommendations with Good Practice Examples

Please direct any comments or queries to the Coordinator of the Foreign Nationals in Prison and Probation Expert Group, [email protected].

Workshop on Foreign National Offenders 2016

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Foreign national offenders pose particular challenges to those who are working with them in the custodial and community setting. This workshop attracted over 60 participants from prison, probation and NGOs from 21 European countries, to hear presentations and engage in discussion and debate on this increasingly important area of criminal justice policy and practice. The Workshop was organised in cooperation with the Belgium Prison Service, by EuroPris and CEP Foreign National Prisoners Expert Group from which six of its members provided key presentations. The purpose of the Workshop was to promote better national regulation and best practices for foreign national prisoners in Europe through contributing to a greater awareness of FNP issues and through improving the management, rehabilitation and resettlement needs of FNPs. The aim of the Workshop was to: promote the welfare and interests of European nationals who are imprisoned outside their country of residence, in order to facilitate their social reintegration promote co-operation and the exchange of information between national and international agencies and groups which support prisoners abroad and their families liaise with individuals as well as state and non-governmental bodies which provide support to prisoners abroad.

A World Café session was used to maximise participant engagement and sharing of knowledge among participants. You may find the report from the World Cafe here. At the Workshop, an initiative of the EuroPris/CEP Foreign National Prisoners Expert Group to collate a ‘Good Practice Manual for Working with Foreign Prisoners’ was launched. It is the intention of the Expert Group to collect examples of working with foreign offenders and prisoners in Europe to spread good practice among European States, please contact [email protected] for details of this initiative or to contribute to it.

The booklet Picture it in Prison has been developed for foreign national prisoners and for prison staff working with them to overcome the language obstacle. The new version has 450 different pictures classified per theme and translations of 60 basic words and sentences in twenty frequently used languages. The booklet (72 pages) can be ordered via [email protected] for € 5 (excluding 6% VAT and postal costs). For large orders it is possible to add the logo of the prison service on the reverse cover of the booklet. Download a sample of the booklet here.

To download all the presentations, the summary report and the world cafe report, please download both parts 1 and 2:

Presentations – part 1

Presentations, summary report, world cafe – part 2

Foreign Nationals in Prison & Probation

Duration: 2013 - Present

Jochem Wildeman

Christopher Stacey

Roisin Mulgrew

Luisa Ravagnani

Leslie Alcock

Osman Nazir

Karen Delespaul

Bogdan Popa

Elena Fiorini

Albert Blancafort Cano

Patrick Fransen

Torben Adams

David Redhouse

Esther Montero Pérez de Tudela

Berfu Altay

Jana Spero / Mirka Jakesova

Daniel Danglades