SERA Preventing radicalisation in prisons -

P a g e | 15 ERASMUS+ N° 580247-EPP-1-2016-1-FR-EPPKA3-IPI-SOC-IN Measure 58  To create three new centres for the care of radicalised persons (or in danger of being radicalised) that are under the control of the Ministry for Justice,  To implement an individualized educational, psychological and social programme, with professionals including religious ministers Measure 59  To enhanced support and monitoring after care release  To anticipate the end of judicial follow-up and mobilise local actors to facilitate their re-integration  To mobilise all local actors, especially professionals, for the integration, under the joint coordination of prefects and prosecutors, in connection with the security services of radicalised persons  To ensure the continuous educational intervention for minors and prepare them for release within the framework of an individualised and containing careplan Measure 60  To organize feedback and sharing of experiences between the various public ministries (justice, security) with regards to the care of the community in the programmes of prevention of radicalisation PRISONS As sites hosting vulnerable and disenfranchised individuals, prisons have also come under heightened scrutiny. In 2016, the government decided to create dedicated prison wings for violent extremist male prisoners. Inmates were to be supervised by trained staff, following completion of a specialised training course. The system provided for five prison wings in total: two for assessments of radicalised/at risk prisoners; and the remainder for the management of violent prisoners with extremist tendencies. Based on their assigned prison wing, inmates were either required to participate in compulsory group training, or followed on an individual basis by a multidisciplinary team of professionals (UNODC, 2016). The dedicated units for radicalised inmates proved to be controversial, and following the attack of two guards at Osny prison in November 2016, the programme was ended (Beardsley, 2017). In 2017, the Central Bureau for Prison Intelligence (Bureau central du renseignement pénitentiaire) was set up to share intelligence about prisoners at risk/ radicalised prisoners among establishments. Prison Security Teams were created and additional security personnel recruited to support prison officers, particularly during transfers between prisons for medical, administrative or judicial reasons. In addition, further funding was devoted to the recruitment of imams in prison (Gouvernement de la République Française, 2016). Besides government-led initiatives, a small-scale project led by the Association ‘Dialogues Citoyens’ was conducted in two prisons. Fifty inmates, with different backgrounds and criminal histories, benefitted from the project. The latter, consisting of four programmes, focused on prisoner reintegration and prevention of radicalisation. Each programme alternated individualized work with collective sessions, attended by guards, prison management officers, former inmates, scholars, religious leaders etc. The group sessions were geared towards tackling issues directly related to the lived experience of inmates, such as prison life, social and political exclusion, Islamophobia and racism, international conflicts, ISIS and Syria; as well as more personal issues, like identity or family ties (Conti, 2017).