Officers from North Macedonia’s Prison Police Intervention Teams made their first official study visit to Warsaw, exchanging experiences and best practices with Poland’s Prison Service Intervention Group (PSIG).

The delegation was led by the Acting Head of the Directorate for the Execution of Sanctions, Aleksandar PANDOV, along with five prison police officials based in Idrizovo, the largest prison in North Macedonia. They visited Warsaw-Białołęka Remand Prison and the base of PSIG, where they observed training facilities and equipment. During the visit they learned more about Polish procedures for engaging intervention teams. On the second day, visitors had the chance to visit Popowo External Detention Centre, which hosts the training centre for the Polish prison staff. Other topics of interest included the recruitment process and internal selection procedures for the prison police, as well as the resocialization opportunities for the sentenced persons.

In the past two years, the Council of Europe with the support of European Union has been assisting North Macedonia’s Directorate for the Execution of Sanctions in building capacities and establishing a legal framework for the intervention teams, which sets the rules of engagement and reporting, highlights their accountability, and ensures respect for human rights.

This exchange visit was conducted under the joint European Union and Council of Europe programme “Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Türkiye”, and its action “Strengthening the capacities of the penitentiary system in North Macedonia”.