Secretariat of Criminal Sanctions, Rehabilitation and Victim Support

PREPARE - Preventing Radicalisation in Probation and Release

A synthetic presentation of the local pilot project implemented within the framework of the PREPARE project in the context of the municipal prevention strategy

This publication was co-funded by the European Union - Justice Programme (2014- 2020)

General information Population: 7,600,267 inhabitants1 Location: Barcelona/Catalonia (Spain) Official website: http://justicia.gencat.cat/ca/ambits/reinsercio_i_serveis_penitenciaris/

Summary Through PREPARE, the Department of Justice of the government of Catalonia worked on a project on multi-agency work (or MAW hereinafter) and methodology. The aim of this multi-agency structure was to monitor two offenders serving sentences for crimes related to radicalisation leading to violent extremism who are close to conditional or final release. Both cases required preparatory work prior to their return to the community. A protocol was developed to allow this first multi-agency work experiment to be systematised and the lessons learnt to be collected so that they can be used to improve risk management and the transmission of information between members of the multi- agency structure. This first MAW structure involved the Department of Justice, the Mossos d'Esquadra Corps (the autonomous police of Catalonia) and the City Councils of Terrassa and L'Hospitalet de Llobregat. These parties are organised into a scientific board and two local boards that feed back to each other (bottom-up) in order to make decisions on the common approach to the cases and the form of communication that must be maintained among the multi- agency members.

Background Experience shows that the time of release is particularly sensitive, notably for offenders convicted of terrorism offences. Based on the detection of this need and the priority placed by the Justice Department on offering the most appropriate intervention, it was considered necessary to create a MAW structure to tackle the transition from prison to community. The group serving sentences for offences related to terrorism and extremist ideology is currently mainly held in state prisons because these crimes fall within the jurisdiction of the Audiencia Nacional (Spanish national court), which is based in Madrid. Only a small proportion of the Catalan prison system population has been convicted of this type of offence. In any case, in the short or medium term, inmates with this profile are expected to be transferred to Catalonia for reasons of residential and/or family ties Some might have residency in the municipalities of Terrassa and L’Hospitalet de Llobregat. PREPARE was thus an excellent platform for testing the performance of the multi-agency structure for cases of prison-community transition and thus making an initial evaluation of the pilot project.

1 Source: IDESCAT, 1 January 2019

2 It was decided to start the local pilot project in Terrassa and L’Hospitalet de Llobregat for various reasons. In the case of Terrassa, anti-terrorist operations in the past led to a local terrorist cell to be dismantled and to a significant number of convictions for crimes related to terrorism. In the case of L’Hospitalet de Llobregat, there is a high proportion of people serving a sentence in a Catalan prison who have declared being residents of this municipality. In addition, L’Hospitalet already had multi-agency work experience through the Efus-led LIAISE I & II (Local Institutions Against Extremism) projects. The objective of the local pilot project was to build a structure that could be replicated and transferred to other municipalities with the necessary adjustments to each local context.

Objectives The main objective of the project was to guarantee comprehensive intervention in the process of transition from prison to community for those who have served a prison sentence for offences related to violent radicalisation and/or have shown signs of having been radicalised in prison. The specific objectives were to: ● Strengthen MAW to implement tertiary prevention strategies specifically adapted to radicalisation. ● Develop a common language regarding the phenomena of violent radicalisation. ● Contribute to reducing the risk factors at individual and community level. ● Create a new MAW system that would allow the needs of professionals working on the front line to be met and ensure the clients’ welfare. ● Improve the knowledge and skills of the different participating professionals. ● Improve coordination through training and work sessions in order to become familiar with the different views and work methodologies of each agency.

Target The profile of inmates in Catalonia’s prisons who could be included in the project was either: ● Spanish or EU citizens serving a sentence for terrorism offences. Non-EU citizens convicted of terrorism offences (with or without a residence permit) were excluded because they are deported when their sentence ends. ● Serving a sentence for offences not related to terrorism but showing risky behaviours in which evidence of radicalisation is observed. ● Serving a sentence for offences not related to terrorism and being vulnerable to violent radicalisation.

3 It was also necessary to consider the prisoners’ families and their community since they are factors of protection and prevention and play an important role in the life of offenders.

Strategy and Activities The activity was carried out on three levels: 1 Scientific and local boards The pilot project was based on a structure consisting of scientific and local or intervention boards. Based on the analysis of the issues raised by the local boards when working on the cases, the scientific board evaluated the situations at hand to give the local boards new guidelines for action. This evaluation was carried out following a bottom-up approach, with fluid and frequent coordination between the two structures according to the action-research- action methodology cycle. In each local board, the different professionals managed the case and exchanged information while respecting codes of ethics, designing individual intervention and developing the client's work plan. The information collected and questions raised were put to the scientific board through a member of the local board who is also on the scientific board (liaison professional). 2 Kick-off meeting A kick-off session was organised in May 2019 in order to share views on key aspects of the MAW. All members of the scientific and local boards attended. A focus group method was used: participants were divided into four groups, each group gathering representatives of the different agencies in a proportional manner. Four issues were discussed during about 15 minutes each: the multi-agency work model, the figure of the case manager, the figure of the mentor and the confidential handling of data. Participants agreed on the importance of having a common language, mutual knowledge and cohesion between the different agencies. 3 Transfer of knowledge to professionals The work of the scientific and local boards was supplemented by the training organised through PREPARE with the objective of incorporating information and know-how on MAW, notably in the field of violent radicalisation. The training was delivered in June 2019 by he Violence Prevention Network (VPN) to a group of 15 local and scientific board professionals on the subject of MAW and mentoring models. Both trainers promoted a collaborative work environment through group dynamics. Further trainings were organised in September 2019 by the Mossos d'Esquadra on the theoretical and conceptual framework of violent radicalisation and radicalisation processes, and in October 2019 by a Dutch Safety House representative about their experience with MAW.

4 Partnership ● Department of Justice: various professionals of the Secretariat of Criminal Sanctions, Rehabilitation and Victim Support and in particular from the prisons, Central Services (Serveis Centrals) and the department of Information and Monitoring (Àrea d’Informació i Seguiment); ● the Mossos d'Esquadra; ● the Terrassa City Council: social services, the municipal police, the department of Citizenship-Migration and Interculturality (Servei de Ciutadania-Migracions i Interculturalitat); ● the L’Hospitalet de Llobregat City Council: members of the Community Mediation Service (Servei de Mediació Comunitària); the department for Crime Prevention, Coexistence and Citizenship (Prevenció Convivència i Civisme); social services; department for Equity, Social Rights and Human Resources (Equitat, Drets Socials i Recursos Humans).

Budget The Department of Justice allocated €5,376 to cover the working hours of one person on the PREPARE project, half of which (€2,688) was met by the Department of Justice. The amount of €1,700 for direct costs and €495.32 for overheads was used to cover the following various expenses: simultaneous translation, translation of documents from Catalan to English, and refreshments during the scientific board meetings.

Results ● More fluid relationships, better coordination and communication between the institutions and professionals involved in supporting ex-offenders when they return to the community. ● All players and parties who may end up involved in the MAW structure are aware and prepared for managing a crisis. ● Better knowledge of the subject of radicalisation and more specifically of violent extremism. ● A common language and guidelines for action agreed among the members of the boards. ● Use and sustainability of existing networks and improved interventions. ● More training and awareness among the relevant professionals. Cross-cutting training helps breaking the stereotypes and prejudices some of the professionals from the different agencies may have. ● Interinstitutional communication and political validations required more time than expected and this delayed the timeline of the pilot experiment.

5 ● The project's two local partners, the City Councils of Terrassa and L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, expressed the desire to maintain the MAW structure after the completion of the project, which is very positive. ● In one of the two cases selected and when we had been working with the person for several months through the project, we were informed by the National Police Commission that this individual was to be deported upon release. Indeed, state regulations make it mandatory to deport offenders condemned for terrorism at the end of their sentence.

Challenges and lessons learnt ● Institutional relations prior to the project and necessary for start-up required more time than expected. ● We detected the need for training in all areas of the project. ● The question arises of how to ensure the sustainability of the MAW after the conclusion of the PREPARE project. ● The importance of sharing information among the different agencies to be able to assess people who are possibly at risk or vulnerable. ● Likewise, it became clear that in order to better implement the project, the roles of the mentor and case manager needed to be better understood and defined and their duties had to be distinguished. ● We currently do not have the necessary resources to create a position of mentor as per the professionalised mentoring model recommended by the Violence Prevention Network. ● The reality of radicalisation in Catalonia: at the moment there are not many inmates serving sentences for this type of offence in Catalonia. The timing of their release did not fit into the project’s timeline. ● The target population group must be Spanish or EU nationals serving sentences. ● It is necessary to clearly define who is responsible for keeping the MAW active in a sustainable manner. ● Lack of knowledge among the professionals participating in the MAW about their respective tasks and roles. They also expressed concern about their duty of confidentiality and the relationship with their client.

Next steps ● Develop a framework programme and/or a protocol to serve as a guideline for future interventions and carry out continuous assessment with the lessons learnt from the two pilot cases. ● Defining the position and responsibilities of the case manager. ● As we work on more cases, gradually universalise the protocol so that it can be adapted to the different cases of radicalisation that arise. ● Prepare the transferability of the protocol to other municipalities.

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