A total of 10 prison staff members, representatives of the Directorate for Execution of Sanctions within the Ministry of Justice and prison staff from various penitentiary institutions country-wide working in the area of security and re-socialization of sentenced persons increased their knowledge on preventing inter-prisoner violence through participation at a 3-day ToT session, organised on 29-31 October 2018 in Ohrid. The participants at the ToT session have been previously involved in the drafting of a Violence Reduction and Anti-Bullying Policy, a Trainers’ Manual on Managing Inter-Prisoner Violence, as well as a Standard Operating Procedure on Inter-Prisoner Violence, under the supervision and guidance by two Council of Europe international consultants.

The participants learned about the manners of preventing inter-prisoner violence and the procedures for reporting and acting upon cases of violence among sentenced persons with the view of promoting safe and healthy prison environment and fostering a culture of non-violence among all staff and prisoners. In addition, the prison staff understood the necessity of building positive connections through increased interaction with prisoners, which contributes to better understanding of their personal situation and the potential risks posed by individual prisoners, ultimately leading to reduction of violence and increased security in prisons.

The participants at the ToT session will further deliver cascade trainings to their colleagues from all prisons in the country, working in the area of security, re-socialisation and to the prison management in the period November-December 2018.

The ToT session was organised within the scope of the Action “Strengthening the protection of the rights of sentenced persons”, co-funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe within the “Horizontal Facility for Western Balkans and Turkey” and implemented by the Council of Europe.