Enhancing the prisons staff skills on the Risks and Need Assessment Protocols and Sentence Planning to Develop Policies and Protocols for the Implementation and Operationalization of These Targeted RNA Protocols in Prison

The workshops, conducted through UNODC coordination with the Ministry of Justice underlined the need for well selected, trained, motivated staff, and reiterated the importance interventions for prisoners. The workshops took place from 14-20 August 2022 with 61 participants including prison managers, social workers, and prison officers along with a participant from MoFA, and with the support and participation of high-profile international experts from Bulgaria, Germany, Tajikistan and Canada. The training achieved two major objectives; gaining in-depth knowledge and understanding of the challenges, needs and priorities of the penitentiary systems in Iraq, and supporting Prison administrations to increase their capacity to classify terrorist and FTF prisoners effectively by applying individualized RNA and to follow-up on classification findings in terms of allocation, categorization and rehabilitation/disengagement programs.

In her session, Mrs. Nadya Radkovska, Head of the Department of International cooperation and training of staff, General Directorate ‘Execution of Sentences’, Bulgaria, highlighted that rehabilitation and reintegration of FTFs and Violent and Extremist Offenders (VEOs) needs to be understood as the responsibility of a diverse group of professions working in cooperation, rather than only prison staff. The reformation of VEOs does not end behind prison walls, but continues after release. Consequently, without strong multiagency co-ordination, co-operation and community support, the risk of relapse is high. This emphasizes the need to understand that whilst prisons may facilitate radicalization, they can also be places for reformation, and hope. The creation of services responsible for the supervision and the social inclusion of released inmates will reinforce rehabilitation efforts made in prison, enhancing community safety.

Ms. Meriem Rebbani, Guest Researcher at the Van Vollenhoven Institute for Law, Governance and Society (VVI), Leiden University, The Netherlands, explained that “It is crucial to recognize the important distinctions between male and female FTFs. Furthermore, appreciation of the needs of women in detention should also include consideration of their children. As female FTFs have been a particularly challenging issue for the Iraqi reformatory system the UNODC considers it a privilege that Ms. Rebbani shared the work accomplished across the globe, and in particular Canada on this important subject.

Ms. Katja Liebmann, Psychologist, Head of Social Therapy of the Juvenile Prison in Hameln, Germany, emphasized that internal differentiation within a prison creates an organizational structure which works most effectively with the different levels of risks, needs and security of the inmates as well as with staff resources. Working with violent offenders requires well-educated staff with competences and skills in dealing with radicalized prisoners. A well-founded diagnosis is required for structured sentence planning which identifies the individual risks and needs of an inmate led to radicalization. This information gives the professionals the opportunity to offer appropriate treatment required for the offender to develop prosocial attitudes and values.

The training concluded with several recommendations and suggestions including the need for dynamic security training and the formation of a Task force of qualified representatives from relevant bodies to work on the development of policies and protocols for RNA in the prison system. Additionally, the participants highlighted the desire for an in-depth study of female FTFs in their facilities. This would assist in the establishment of a context-specific intervention and rehabilitation program.

Through continued partnerships with local authorities, the UNODC aims to strengthen Iraq’s institutional capacity to develop and integrate the relevant RNA instruments into practice, enabling prison staff to perform their tasks in and effective, professional manner to manage and mitigate the threats posed by terrorists and FTF prisoners. International best practices will be examined and adapted to the local context, including classification and case management, contraband control, access control between cells and prison buildings, and development of intake processes.