The annual Conference of Directors of Prison and Probation Services of the Council of Europe, to be held on 21 and 22 May in Ayia Napa (Cyprus), will discuss the advantages and pitfalls when using new technologies in the management of suspects and offenders, and the central place of the human factor in dealing with persons in detention or under probation.
Held under the theme “Offender management: tradition and technology”, the conference will examine the ethical implications of the use of new technologies and how traditional working methods with suspects and offenders can be impacted by the digital transformation, as well as what safeguards need to be put in place.
The conference will also address issues such as the prevention of suicides and violence in prison, the management of the execution of sentences, and confidentiality and data protection.
Ionas Nicolaou, Minister of Justice and Public Order of Cyprus, Jan Kleijssen, Director of Information Society and Action against Crime of the Council of Europe, and Anne Aristotelous, Director of the Prisons Department of Cyprus, will speak at the opening.
In a side event on 21 May, professor Marcelo Aebi, from the University of Lausanne, will present the annual Council of Europe survey on persons under the supervision of probation agencies in Europe for 2018 (SPACE II). The report contains information provided by 41 probation agencies.
The opening session (21 May from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.) and the closing session (22 May from 13:30 p.m. to 17:00 p.m.) will be webcasted live.