Round table 1: Innovation and Future Trends of emerging technologies used in rehabilitation under the probation supervision
Like all organisations in society, the probation services are evolving. The COVID crisis has greatly accelerated the use of new technologies and transformed the way work is done. A recent study in Belgium showed that 48% of people have difficulty using new technologies (digital literacy). Legislation and public services in particular produce complex processes that are difficult to translate into IT tools and complicated to use independently. Supporting citizens to use IT tools and to assert their social rights is a new challenge. Whenever an IT tool is proposed or envisaged, the magic of the technical solution always seems to work. However, it is necessary to simplify processes to be able to envisage real added value, to make them more fluid and to see how the links between the different functions within probation but also with the other actors in the penal chain can be made. This is an essential element on which interventions can be based. Digitizing processes is very demanding, including keeping our own staff on board.
What can we expect from new technologies in terms of the relationship with probationers? We have seen that they can be used in electronic monitoring with the risk of widening the net (pre-trial detention under electronic monitoring is an example), but we can maintain a more continuous relationship thanks to video calls instead of going to the home or having an interview in the office, we can send a reminder of an appointment by text message, etc.
The round-table will hopefully allow us to reflect on the relationship between ends and means in relation to the use of new technologies and their impact in supporting the purpose of probation.
Director-General, Directorate-General for the Houses of Justice, Wallonia-Brussels Federation, Belgium
Annie Devos has acquired a large experience throughout her career in the field of prison and probation.
She has consecutively been prison governor (1988-1991), technical expert on prison policy for the Minister of Justice (1991-1995), seconded head of the department for policy and general affairs (1995-1997) and head of the department in charge of the individual inmates’ file (1997-1999) at the Ministry of Justice. Afterwards, Annie has run the Belgian probation department – called “Houses of Justice” – since its creation in 1999. At the time, the services depended on the judicial organisation and were then transferred to the services of the Ministry of Justice until late 2014. In 2015, the services were divided between the 3 linguistic communities due to the 6th State reform.
Annie has been appointed as Director-General for the Wallonia-Brussels Federation, which comprises the head office, the 13 local houses of Justice, the Centre for Electronic Monitoring and the Centre for Assistance to People concerned by any Radicalism or Extremism leading to Violence (CAPREV) and subsidises partner services in charge of offenders’ and victims’ support.
Annie Devos was successively president and vice-president of the Council for penological co-operation (PC-CP) of the Council of Europe until November 2023, and she has been the President of the Confederation of European Probation (CEP) since October 2022.
Participants:
Drd. Iuliana Elena Cărbunaru
Probation inspector in the National Probation Directorate within the Romanian Ministry of Justice, Romania
Vicepresident of the Confederation of European Probation (CEP)
Drd. Iuliana Elena Cărbunaru is currently probation inspector in the National Probation Directorate within the Romanian Ministry of Justice ensuring the development and implementation of the international projects and promoting the probation system at the international level. Starting with 2017 she is Board member of the Confederation of European Probation (CEP) and in October 2022 she was elected as Vicepresident of the CEP.
As an employee of the Romanian probation service for the past 22 years Ms. Cărbunaru has served as probation counsellor (1,5 years), seconded probation counselor within the Ministry of Justice (3,5 years), probation inspector (9 years) and director of probation service (8 years).
Her international experience includes working with probation services from Europe and North America and she is acting as an expert for the Council of Europe in her area of expertise and short term expert in projects financed by the European Union in the Balkans.
She holds a B.A in Social Work, a M.A in Community Justice Administration and she is currently doing her PhD on penal policy transfers in Europe. From 2023 she is associate professor at Bucharest Univeristy, Sociology and Social Work Faculty.
Daniel Danglades
Head Deputy of the European and International Relations Unit of the French prison and probation services
France
Daniel is an accomplished professional with a diverse background in both the public and private sectors. Daniel brings a unique blend of experience to his current role as Head Deputy of the European and International Relations Unit of the French prison and probation services. With a proven track record of leadership and expertise in corrections and probation, he has been an actively engaged member of several expert groups. His dedication and commitment have been recognised, leading to his election as a CEP Board member in October 2022. Additionally, his participation in many international conferences further underscores his valuable contributions to the field.
Gerry McNally
Former President Confederation of European Probation (CEP),
Retired Assistant Director, The Probation Service, Ireland
Gerry McNally is now (2024) retired. He was previously Assistant Director in the Irish Probation Service (www.probation.ie) with responsibility for research projects, policy briefings and special international projects. Former President of the Confederation of European Probation (CEP) 2016-22 www.cep-probation.org
With the Probation Service 1978-2024, Gerry McNally has worked as a Probation Officer and Manager in every area of Service practice including prisons, courts, community supervision and community service and was a member of the Probation Service senior management team.
Gerry McNally has published articles on probation issues, made presentations at conferences, seminars and meetings, represented the Service and participated in many EU projects and new initiatives. Alternate Member of the Parole Board and responsible for Service liaison with the Parole Board between 2003 and 2012.
Gerry was a Council Member of Association of Criminal Justice Research and Development (ACJRD) 2004-2022 and contributor to their conferences and seminars.
Gerry is former co-editor of Irish Probation Journal (jointly published by the Probation Service and the Probation Board for Northern Ireland) and, between 2016-2022 was President of CEP (Confederation of European Probation).
Jana Špero
Secretary General of the Confederation of European Probation (CEP)
Jana Špero is Secretary General of the Confederation of European Probation (CEP) since September 2022. Prior to this role, she was the Director General for Prison and Probation System in the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Croatia (2017-2022) and Head of Probation Service in Croatia (2012-2017). She was a Board member of CEP (2016-2019) and Vice-president of CEP (2019-2022). She is Master of Law and Master-Specialist of criminal investigation. As an International Consultant/Expert of the Council of Europe she was involved in different activities regarding the development and professionalization of probation services and prisons: workshops, round tables and projects. She has been engaged as an expert in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Bulgaria, Greece and Slovenia. She has been a speaker in many international conferences and took part in different international projects (STREAM Project, ISTEP etc.). She was the Project leader of the IPA, Transition Facility and other EU and Norway Grants Projects in Croatia. She was an expert for UNAFEI and UNODC and elected speaker for UN Crime Congress. On regular basis she is speaker/lecturer at seminars and workshops regarding the probation.
Round table 2: Ethical considerations and potential biases of using Technology Innovations and the Criminal Justice System
The increased use of digital technology, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, has transformed the way justice professionals interact insight the hole system. The continued evolution of technological tools is the basis for debates on how professional values and ethics might be maintained, as professional’s activities increasingly use these tools.The use of databases, specialized software, as well as various technological communication tools, have increased accessibility and efficiency in case management. Digital files allow faster retrieval, updates, or sharing between staff, and emails, instant messaging, and video conferencing used to communicate within the justice system, facilitate faster information sharing or decision making.
Beyond the benefits brought by the integration of technology, certain aspects related to the ethics and professional values should not be neglected. These must be considered, analyzed and developed along with the implementation of any new technologies, professional ethics having to accompany and keep pace with the rapid evolution of innovations.
Issues such as the proportionality of technology use, punitive versus change-oriented use, privacy and informed consent, choice, decision-making, implications regarding staff skills and workload, data protection and potential inequality issues need to be considered in the ethical evaluation and implementation of new technologies. At the same time, regardless of the technology’s capabilities, one must not forget the reason for which it is used, or if it must be resorted to in certain cases. Access to new technologies cannot necessarily be innovative if they are not ethical and efficient, the topic of ethical implications being a fertile ground that warrants further analysis.
The aim of this round table is to explore some important ethical dilemmas in the current Romanian and European context of the integration of technology in the criminal justice systems. Also, it is a reflection on aspects such as ensuring confidentiality, consent, limits and conflict of interests, the imbalance in accessing technology and the need to accumulate digital skills.
West University of Timisoara, Romania
Mihaela Alida TOMITA is Professor at the Department of Social Work, Faculty of Sociology and Psychology and Director of the International Center for interdisciplinary research on human rights – ICIRHR from West University of Timisoara, Romania. Her professional, academic and scientific activity is closely related to the therapeutic and educational approach of young offenders and young with substance abuse disorders, militating and promoting intervention strategies and alternative sanctions in the criminal justice system and human rights. Author and coauthor of several books and articles on the field, she coordinates and participates in research and intervention projects with budgetary and European funds in child protection, probation system, resilience of victims and offenders etc. She is a member of the International Association for the Promotion and Dissemination of Resilience Research (RESILIO), European Association of Schools of Social Work (EASSW), European Society of Criminology (ESC) and Romanian Association of Criminal Sciences.
Participants:
Lecturer Radu Geamănu
University Nicolae Titulescu of Bucharest, Romania
Minister of Justice Romania
Lecturer Radu Geamănu has been employed with the Ministry of Justice since 2006 (currently, as head of Public Law Service), where his area of competence is drafting criminal legislation (including prison and probations laws and bylaws). As such, he has participated in numerous working groups dealing with drafting normative acts, including the ones that drafted essential laws in the field of substantive criminal law, prison and probation law (e.g. Law no. 252/2013, Law no. 253/2013 and Law no. 254/2013 on the organization and functioning of the probation system and on custodial and non-custodial penalties and measures).
He has participated, as an expert, in different working groups set up at international or european level in the field of criminal law and prison and probation law. For example, he participated in the works of the Ad Hoc Committee for the elaboration of the UN Convention on combating the use of communication and information technologies to commit crimes, in the expert working group for the update of the UN Model Law on Organized Crime, in the DROIPEN Group of the EU.
The academic activity (since 2011) is centered on teaching and researching criminal law, probation and prison law. He has published, as sole author or co-author, a number of works in Romanian and English in the said domains, including comments and case law analysis related to Law no. 253/2013 on non-custodial penalties and measures (2023); Law no. 254/2013 on custodial penalties and measures (2021); Crimes provided for in special laws (2023); Means of protection of persons sentenced to custodial sentences (2019). He has published articles in specialized law journals (Dreptul, Curierul Judiciar, Lex et Scientia International Journal) or in the context of scientific conferences with international participation (CKS, SPECTO).
Andrei Iugan
Judge Bucharest Court of Appeal, Criminal Division I, Romania
Andrei Iugan has been a judge at the Bucharest of Appeal, Criminal Division I since 2019. A graduate of the National Institute of Magistracy, he began his professional activity as a magistrate in the Bucharest District 5 Court. He was a judge at the Bucharest District Court 5 between 2012-2018 and at the Bucharest Tribunal between 2018-2019.
Since 2017, Andrei Iugan has a PhD in Criminal Law, the title of his doctoral thesis and research topic being “Judicial individualization of punishment. Alternatives to imprisonment.”
In addition to the magistracy, he also carries out an intense academic activity, both didactic and publishing, being specialized in criminal procedural law. He is currently a lecturer PhD at the Bucharest Economic School, Faculty of Law.
In the course of time, he collaborated in the realization of fundamental works such as Criminal Procedural Law. General Part, Criminal Procedural Law. Special Part, Procedural measures, the plea agreement, Annotated Penal Code. General Part. National jurisprudence 2014-2020, Annotated Criminal Code. Special Part. National jurisprudence 2014-2020, the Annotated Criminal Procedure Code, as well as a series of materials to help young magistrates or aspiring magistrates.
Bjørn Larsen
Prosecutor, Bergen, Norway
Mr. Larsen finished his law degree in 1994, and started working as a prosecutor the same year. Since then, he has been working in a number of different positions as a prosecutor, the last 10 years in different leader-positions. He has also worked as an assistant judge in a Norwegian District Court for 2 years, and he have wide experience in working as an international legal adviser in Eastern-Europe (more than 6 years all together). Most of this time was spent in the Republic of Moldova – and also in Ukraine (he was in Kyiv from 2020 until February 2022). Furthermore, he has over the last 3 years, participated as a Norwegian legal adviser in various Norway Grants Programs; namely in Romania, Croatia, Bulgaria and Lithuania.
Round table 3: Strategies for increasing the use of technology in the prison systems
The evolution of national policies, including those in the criminal-executional area, is highly influenced by the globalization impact. Thus, one of the most influential dimensions aims at using digitalization in order to improve the access to justice and to connect the prison system to the digital world.
Against this background, the round table will focus on the measures implemented in the prison units with a view to developing the digital competences and efficiently employing the digital tools in various fields: on one hand – inmates’ social re-entry, providing the prison regime and the lawfulness of the detention and on the other hand – optimizing the administrative activities, decreasing staff deficit and promoting staff wellbeing at the workplace. The debate will especially target the significance of the role played by the academic community in the innovative usage of the new technologies both in order to improve the quality of life in detention and to make the management processes more efficient.
Ph.D. Ioana Mihaela MORAR
Driven mid-career leader in public service, with an experience acquired in 20 years of continuous work in the penitentiary system (at both middle, and top level management – deputy general director, director general ad-interim, director of the Social Reintegration Department, head of the Psycho-social Assistance Service): i.) Prison management and administration, knowing the system from the inside; ii.) Treatment of inmates, and rehabilitation; iii.) The academic perspective, holding a PhD in Psychology. Other relevant professional experiences: Eastern Europe Regional Representative in the European Prison Education Association (2012-June 2019); Board Member of the European Organisation of Prison and Correctional Services (2022-present); Associate Professor at Bucharest University (2018-present).
Her academic background includes also a recent Fulbright exchange for mid-career leaders in public service in USA (University of Minnesota/ 2022-2023), and two master degrees in Law, and Sociology, complementary to her bachelor degree in Psychology.
Focused on streamlining the correction process, enhancing correctional policies with civic-oriented actions that can bring a wider positive and sustainable impact on society. Strongly believes that the basis of an effective prison system is dependent on progressive approaches and efforts towards the assistance and rehabilitation of the detainees, in compliance with international standards.
Participants:
Liliana Hurezan
Deputy director for social reinsertion in Arad Penitentiary, Romania
Miss Liliana Hurezan is the deputy director for social reinsertion in Arad Penitentiary. In the 17 years of work in the field of prison reinsertion, miss Liliana Hurezan acquired significant expertise and knowledge in the management of prison educational and psychosocial services, contributing to the development of effective reinsertion strategies necessary for supporting the rehabilitation and successful integration of incarcerated individuals back into society. Acknowledging the necessity for a comprehensive understanding of the complex factors underlying criminal behaviour, she is currently researching the complex interplay of dark personality factors, socio-affective dimensions and aggressive and prosocial behaviour in offenders, actively working towards improving the effectiveness of reinsertion programs and ultimately reducing recidivism rates.
Marjan Lukavečki
Chair of EuroPris ICT Expert Group and a Senior Adviser – Specialist in the Head Office of the Directorate for the Prison System and Probation in the Ministry of Justice and Public Administration of the Republic of Croatia
Marjan is the chairman of the EuroPris ICT Expert Group and a Senior Adviser – Specialist in the Head Office of the Directorate for the Prison System and Probation in the Ministry of Justice and Public Administration of the Republic of Croatia. He also works as an Information Security Advisor to the Ministry of Justice and Public Administration. Despite his qualifications as an IT engineer with a master’s degree in Business Administration, his main expertise lies in the field of Prison services. Over the years, he has been involved in various tasks within the Prison service, including prison security, data management, and education. Over the last eleven years, he has dedicated his efforts to spearheading the digital transformation of the Croatian Prison and Probation service. Since 2014, Marjan has actively participated in the EuroPris ICT in Prisons Expert Group, contributing to the European Prison community through organization of many workshops and conferences, often serving as a speaker, moderator, or facilitator. In the future, he aims to elevate awareness of the impact of ICT technologies on prison environments and foster conditions for digital rehabilitation by empowering the European community of ICT experts.
Irina Croitoru
Senior officer in IT and cybersecurity Department
National Administration of Penitentiaries of Moldova, Republic of Moldova
Mrs. Irina Croitoru works as an senior officer in IT and cybersecurity Department for the National Administration of Penitentiaries of Moldova. Mrs. Croitoru has over 10 years of experience in designing and installing perimeter security systems. During the career she managed to renovate over 70 percent of outdated perimeter systems. She is graduated from Technical University of Moldova, specilization – Engineering and Telecommunications Management.
Cătălin Țurcan
Senior officer in IT and cybersecurity Department
National Administration of Penitentiaries of Moldova, Republic of Moldova
Mr. Cătălin Țurcan works as an senior officer in IT and cybersecurity Department for the National Administration of Penitentiaries of Moldova. Mr. Țurcan is a Master`s-educated software engineer with expertise in crafting innovative solutions. Passionate about staying aheead in technology, committed to delivering excellence in the field of sofware engineering.