A total of 90 prison staff members from various penitentiary institutions country-wide increased their knowledge on dynamic security in prisons through participation at three 2-day cascade training sessions organised in the course of April 2018 in Stip, Bitola and Skopje. The cascade sessions were delivered by experienced prison staff members working in the area of rehabilitation, trained under a Training of Trainers (ToT) session, organised by the Council of Europe in February 2018.

The participants learned about the concept of dynamic security and its application in the everyday work of all prison staff. It was made clear that dynamic security is about building and maintaining good and dynamic relationships with prisoners and being aware of their specific needs. In addition, the prison staff understood the necessity of building positive connections through increased interaction with prisoners, which contributes to better understanding of their personal situation and potential risks posed by individual prisoners, ultimately leading to increased security in prisons.

The Directorate for Execution of Sanctions expressed their commitment to incorporate the dynamic security concept within the national penitentiary system and further disseminate awareness and understanding among its staff, based on the policy and the trainers’ manual developed by the Action.

The training sessions were organised within the scope of the Action “Strengthening the protection of the rights of sentenced persons”, funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe within the “Horizontal Facility for Western Balkans and Turkey” and implemented by the Council of Europe.