Effective management, rehabilitation, and reintegration of violent extremist offenders (VEOs) under a probation regime requires probation staff to possess specific specialised skills and knowledge. As part of ongoing efforts to strengthen the capacities of probation practitioners in Albania and to ensure the long-term success of managing and reintegrating VEOs effectively, a cascade training session was organised with the support of the European Union and the Council of Europe.

The training, held on 16 April in Tirana, brought together 28 participants from 18 probation offices across Albania. For the first time, probation officers from across Albania, had the opportunity to learn about the phenomenon of violent extremism and to increase their knowledge and skills in applying VEO-specific screening, risk and needs assessment tool. During the workshop the participants developed individual treatment plans and rehabilitation programmes. They are now better equipped to support the rehabilitation and reintegration of VEOs, as well as to prevent and detect potential radicalisation among offenders.

The training was led by experienced peers who had participated in the pilot implementation of these tools in one Probation Office in Albania, work directly with VEOs and were trained to transfer knowledge to their peers. Their hands-on experience and practical insights added significant value to the learning process.

The Albanian Probation Service has recognised the importance of building in-house capacities and promoting peer-to-peer knowledge transfer. This approach contributes to the sustainable, long-term development of probation officers’ capacities.   

The cascade session was supported by the regional action “Enhancing co-operation in the Western Balkans in managing violent extremism in prisons and preventing further radicalisation after release”, implemented under the joint European Union and Council of Europe programme “Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Turkiye”.