Countering Violent Extremism in Prisons
Introduction • As t he t hreat of violent ext remism (VE) has grown – prevent ion and count er st rat egies have focussed on limit ing space and opport unit y for VE recruit ers t o work • A key element t o such st rat egies is underst anding t he radicalisat ion process and t he condit ions and drivers t hat facilit at e people becoming violent ext remist s • Venues for radicalisat ion are many and varied – in person, online, in schools and places of worship • Prisons may provide a unique “ safe haven” where ext remist s can net work, compare and exchange t act ics, recruit and radicalise new members • Prisons may also provide a unique opport unit y for aut horit ies, drawing on global best pract ice, t o count er t he effort s of violent ext remist s t o radicalise and recruit new members
Important points • Programs must be t ailored t o t he local condit ions, cult ures, as well as, local and int ernat ional law and legal t radit ions • Programs should t ake int o account t heir impact on fundament al human right s, including t he right t o freedom of t hought , opinion, conscience and religion, and t he right t o fair t reat ment in accordance wit h t he rule of law • Incarcerat ion is a key element of t he Criminal Just ice S yst em’s response t o VE. • The Criminal Just ice S yst em should also: • prevent furt her radicalisat ion of prisoners, • prevent ext remist act ivit ies from being direct ed or support ed from wit hin prisons and, • provide for t he de-radicalisat ion and reint egrat ion of prisoners int o societ y
Goals and Objectives of Prison CVE Programmes
Goals and Obj ectives of Prison CVE Programs • It is import ant t o first clearly define t he program’s goals and obj ect ives and ident ify indicat ors of success and failure • Import ant t o define: • which act ors are involved in t he init iat ive • what t he desired result s are, • how progress is measured, and • which specific out comes are expect ed • In defining t he goals and obj ect ives for program, first conduct a comprehensive risk and t hreat assessment . • Key t o define from t he out set whet her t he goal of t he program is t o change t he views or merely t he behaviour of t he inmat es (de- radicalisat ion vs. disengagement )
Goals and Obj ectives of Prison CVE Programs - contd • Not e, disengagement is easier in t he short t erm but may not have t he desired long t erm impact of reducing VE beyond prison environment • Import ant t o decide who t he key t arget of t he program is: • Lower and mid-level ext remist s • S enior leadership • Import ant t o have a specific plan for each group – generic solut ions seldom work effect ively • Programmes and plans should be based on a det ailed and t hrough analysis and underst anding of t he “ t arget group” : • t heir specific ideology, • obj ect ives, • preferred recruit ing/ grooming t echniques, • preferred t ype of recruit , st anding wit hin t he prison, • Connect ions out side t he prison
Prison Staff
Prison S taff • S t aff are crucial t o t he success of any Prison CVE Programme. Prisons should: • Ensure sound select ion and recruit ment pract ices for Prison S t aff • Ensure proper t raining of personnel, and specialist t raining for t hose dealing direct ly wit h violent ext remist prisoners • Have sufficient st aff for t he size and nat ure of t he prison populat ion should be a priorit y • S t aff working wit h violent ext remist prisoners require a good combinat ion of personal qualit ies and t echnical skills. • They need t o be able t o deal wit h all prisoners in an even-handed, humane and j ust manner, including t he difficult , dangerous and manipulat ive prisoners. • Female st aff should be recruit ed and t rained t o work wit h women violent ext remist prisoners and t o design and deliver gender- appropriat e int ervent ions. • Prison st aff should also be represent at ive of t he et hnic, racial and religious profile of t he prison populat ion. Prisons should also have dedicat ed spirit ual leaders available t o minist er t o prisoners. • In order t o manage VE prisoners effect ively, st aff need t o uphold t he highest levels of professionalism and et hics.
Risk Assessments
Risk Assessments • Proper risk assessment (screening) of prisoners enables t he efficient use of resources, sent ence management and upholding t he human right s of prisoners. • Risks assessed during t he init ial screening should include: • Pot ent ial harm t o self or ot hers • Ident ifying pot ent ial violent ext remist s (part icularly where t he reason for incarcerat ion is not direct ly relat ed t o violent ext remism) • Threat t o good order in t he prison – pot ent ial for violence • Likelihood of escape • Risk of pot ent ial recidivism • Pot ent ial for inst igat ing offences in t he communit y in cooperat ion wit h out side associat es • Import ant t o not e VE prisoners are oft en not an homogenous group – it is necessary t o evaluat e each on t heir own merit s • It is key t o underst and t he mot ivat ions, personal and cont ext ual circumst ances cont ribut ing t o t heir violent ext remist views
Assessing VE potential among prisoners • Undert aking a det ailed risk assessment will enable t he prison administ rat ion t o ident ify which of t he wide variet y of mot ivat ions and fact ors have “ pulled” and “ pushed” individuals t owards violent ext remism. • Not all violent ext remist s are mot ivat ed by t he same fact ors, however, t he following are well est ablished “ push” and “ pull” fact ors t o be considered when evaluat ing individual prisoners: • Lack of socio-economic opport unit ies • Marginalisat ion and discriminat ion • Collect ive grievances and vict imizat ion • Poor governance, violat ions of human right s and a lack of t he rule of law • Prolonged and unresolved conflict s • Dist ort ion and misuse of beliefs, polit ical ideologies and et hnic and cult ural differences • Influence of charismat ic leadership and social net works
Accommodation
Accommodation • Accommodat ing VE prisoners involves decisions whet her t o: • S eparat e t hem from t he general prison populat ion (separat ion), • If separat ed, should t hey be isolat ed from each ot her (isolat ion), or held t oget her in one unit (concent rat ion), or • S hould t hey be dispersed across a small number of prisons (dispersal), • Int egrat e VE prisoners wit h t he general populat ion (int egrat ion), • A combinat ion of t hese st rat egies. • Prison administ rat ions will need t o det ermine t he best approach t o accommodat ion, based on specific fact ors wit hin t he prison populat ion, as well as, t he overall securit y sit uat ion in t he count ry.
Accommodation contd Fact ors for considerat ion would include: • The size of the VE prison population to be segregated or dispersed, • The state of the prison infrastructure and the administration’s ability to ensure secure custody of VE prisoners in a dispersed model, • The capacity, size and skills level of staff to manage challenges posed by different models, • The financial resources available to manage the VE prisoner population, • The cultural, political and social context of the country, • The risk that an individual presents for being further radicalised, or for radicalising others to violence • The modus operandi and organisational structure of the violent extremist group
Enablers of radicalisation to violence in prison and Identifying VE recruitment efforts
Enablers of radicalisation to violence in prison • The main fact ors t hat can drive, or creat e opport unit ies for radicalisat ion t o VE in prison, are as follows: • Ideology : Exposure to an ideology that sanctions or legitimises violence, often by providing a compelling but fabricated narrative of contemporary politics and recent history, • Grievances : A range of grievances, some real and some imagined, to which there may seem to be no credible and effective non-violent response. This may include attribution of their imprisonment or their treatment in prison to discriminatory policies or efforts by the government to humiliate members of their group, • Charismat ic leaders : Exposure to people or groups who can directly and persuasively articulate an extremist ideology and then relate it to aspects of a person’s own background and life history. • Physical and prot ect ive needs : Prisoners may be mot ivat ed (or forced) t o j oin a violent ext remist group t o obt ain food, somewhere t o sleep, and prot ect ion, regardless of whet her t hey ident ify wit h t o t he group ´ s violent ext remist ideology or not , • Religion : Imprisonment can lead t o renewal or finding of religious fait h. New convert s may init ially be less well-informed about t heir fait h and may be vulnerable t o radicalisers who seek t o push a dist ort ed version of t heology on t hem.
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