Effective prison operational work plays a crucial role in maintaining safety and security within penitentiary institutions and contributes to the successful management and rehabilitation of violent extremist offenders and other offenders prone to radicalisation.

Therefore, following the development of the Manual on prison operational work, the establishment of the prison operational units and building staff capacities, a Training of Trainers took place on 9-11 June 2026 in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH).

During the three-day programme, participants explored the legal framework governing prison operational work. Through case studies, they enhanced their knowledge and skills on key elements of the operational cycle, work recording and classification procedures, and standard operating procedures for analysis and sharing of operational information. Participants also discussed the protection of personal and classified data, an essential component of effective and lawful operational work. On the last day, the participants had an opportunity to practice the acquired know-how by preparing and delivering individual presentations with the support of the experienced practitioners from the State Prison, Mostar, and Bijeljina, who led the training.  

The activity contributes to improving security, information management, and response to risks within penitentiary institutions in BiH and supports the sustainability of the work done so far by further strengthening internal capacities of prisons, which now have local trainers equipped to share knowledge to their peers.

The activity was organised within the framework of the Council of Europe project “Providing for Effective Reintegration of Violent Extremist Offenders in Bosnia and Herzegovina (PER-VEO) – Phase II”, implemented under the Council of Europe Action Plan for Bosnia and Herzegovina 2026–2029 and funded through voluntary contributions.