Sixty two professionals from all penitentiaries across the Republic of Moldova strengthened their confidence in translating the assessment of risks and needs of prisoners into personalised rehabilitation plans, ensuring that planned interventions are tailored to each prisoner’s profile and needs.

During two rounds of intensive training, multidisciplinary teams from all prisons enhanced their skills in identifying offenders’ criminogenic risk factors (antisocial behaviour, substance abuse, mental health issues etc.) and specific needs (education, employment, family relationships and other) for more accurate and responsive decision making in their rehabilitation and reintegration interventions, and for reducing the likelihood of offenders’ future criminal activity.

The sessions represent a consolidation exercise, following the piloting in selected prisons and validation of a new Risk and Needs Assessment tool for the prison system of the Republic of Moldova, for a uniform, structured and evidence-based assessment of offenders’ risk and needs system-wide. The initiative was carried out under the auspice of the Council of Europe Project “Further strengthening the prison and probation systems, the provision of health care, and the treatment of patients in closed institutions in the Republic of Moldova”, financed and implemented through the Council of Europe Action Plan for the Republic of Moldova (2025-2028).