P4: Future Action and Berlin Declaration on the

Reintegration of (Ex-)Offenders

The Council of Europe’s viewpoint

Some basic principles

• European Prison Rules:

- preparation for release starts at the first day of detention;

- life in prison has to approximate to the extent possible the positive aspects of life in the community;

- cooperation with outside social services and civil society are indispensable

Two major problems

• Overcrowding;

• Rising numbers of foreign prisoners in EU, i.e. who have neither the nationality nor the resident status of the state in which they are detained

Possible solutions

• Work with the judiciary

• Work with probation services

• Work with other agencies

• Work with the media

www.coe.int/prison