Prison staff working in the area of rehabilitation benefited from the ‘on-the-job’ coaching during the piloting of the application of the newly developed screening and risk and needs assessment (RNA) tools for radicalised inmates. The tools were piloted in the two biggest penitentiary institutions in the country, namely in Idrizovo prison on 22-23 January and Prison Stip on 24-25 January 2019, under supervision of one Council of Europe international consultant.

The screening and the risk and needs assessment tools had been previously developed by a working group composed of representatives from the Directorate for Execution of Sanctions at the Ministry of Justice and prison staff from various penitentiary institutions throughout the country, assisted by several Council of Europe consultants.

The aim of the piloting was to test the practical use of the tool directed at screening, identification, risk assessment, and interventions in prisons with regard to radicalised inmates upon their admission and in the course of their imprisonment. Such tools will significantly improve the identification of their needs with the aim of supporting the intervention towards their disengagement from violence and reintegration after their release from prison.

The development and, subsequently, the piloting of the Screening and RNA tools for radicalised sentenced persons was organised within the action “Strengthening the protection of the rights of sentenced persons”, which is part of the "Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Turkey", a joint programme co-funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe, and implemented by the Council of Europe.