The expert meeting was attended by 30 participants, with a representation of Director Generals, Deputy Directors, middle managers and practitioners, from Probation Services and Education and Training Institutions. Participants represented 15 different EU jurisdictions coming together to understand and discuss the role of Mentoring in the context of Probation Training.

This year´s meeting aimed at enhancing the knowledge on education and training particularly in Mentoring in the context of Probation Training, exchange experiences and good practices between different countries, share recent updates in relation to both legislative developments and interventions to create a solid expert network in the field of education and training of probation staff at European Level.

The meeting started with plenary presentations showing good practices of EU Probation Services that implemented or are implementing Mentoring systems to train their Probation officers at different levels. At the first part of the meeting, challenges and opportunities of mentoring systems were discussed.

This part was followed by a Mapping time. Participants were asked to answer a survey to identify the probation officer training systems, including entry training, in-service training, and mentoring programs across different EU jurisdictions. The aim was to better understand how probation officers are prepared for their roles in different EU countries/jurisdictions.

The second part of the meeting was focused on small group discussions on three different streams. The first working group was on Mentoring with a focus on the professional role, values and ethics, the second working group was on the role of Technology in Mentoring and the third working group was on Mentoring in the process of implementing Core Correctional Skills.

As an outcome of each group, a one-page document with initial recommendations and guidance on each topic was produced. This will be available very soon.

Presentations

Plenaries:

• How to implement a Mentoring system for Probation staff training, the French experience

Severine Dubaïssi, Training Manager, probation and criminology training department and Christel Combesque, Deputy Head of the rehabilitation and probation officers’ training unit, France.

• Belgium’s experience in Mentoring – Challenges and opportunities when setting up a Mentoring system

Marie – Nathalie D´Hoop, Deputy Director, Administration Générale Maisons de Justice, Belgium.

• Croatian experience in Mentoring – Challenges and opportunities when setting up with Mentoring system.

Matea Sršen, Head of Office – Prison system and probation directorate. Sector for probation Zagreb, Croatia.

• Mentoring in the Finnish Probation System

Pia Andersson, Senior specialist in the national Development and Guidance Department of the Prison and Probation Service of Finland and CEP Board member.

Kristian Kipinoinen, Specialist from the national Core Operation Department in Prison and Probation Service of Finland, online presentation.

 Workshops:

• Professional role, values and ethics – Severine Dubaïssi, Training Manager, probation and criminology training department and Christel Combesque, Deputy Head of the rehabilitation and probation officers’ training unit, France.
• Mentoring with focus on Technology – Pia Anderson, Senior specialist in the national Development and Guidance Department of Prison and Probation Service of Finland and CEP Board member.
• Mentoring in the process of Implementing Core Correctional Skills – advantages and challenges – Danijela Mrhar Prelić, Director General of Slovenian Probation Administration, Body of the Ministry of Justice and Matea Sršen, Head of Office – Prison system and probation directorate, Sector for probation, Zagreb, Croatia.

Education and training within the sector of Probation is on the European Agenda, and it is one of CEP’s members’ interests.  With developments in European criminal justice and greater mobility of European citizens, a clear need has emerged for more knowledge on education and training. For this reason, in 2018, CEP started with the creation of a network of experts on education and training in the Probation sector. CEP wishes to continue to strengthen the European network on education and training in the field of Probation by organizing annual meetings of this network.