EUROPE / EUROPA
EUROPE / EUROPA
JT : EuroPris involves a very big diversity of countries with different economic performances , different perspectives and maturity levels of their prison systems ... You have Brexit nowadays ...
What are the main challenges that prison systems are presently facing , in Europe ?
HM : The fact that the United Kingdom may leave the EU will not have a big impact . As you know , the UK was out of the European Justice programme already . It is important to say that we wanted to treat everybody on the same level , be it a small country or a big country . Any country has the equal possibility to become a EuroPris member , as long as they belong to the EU or related states like Norway . We decided that every jurisdiction should contribute with a few thousand of Euros ... the big ones paying € 7.500 and the smaller paying € 3.000 a year . In that way , we made it accessible to everybody . Also important is that we provide an immediate return on investment . Whenever we organize conferences , EuroPris pays for its members ’ flights and accommodation , so that they can easily have access to them . Besides the accessibility – which was one of our main concerns – we needed a very good website . We were congratulated by the European Commission on the EuroPris website . It is much more than a website . It is a document and knowledge sharing system where you can find very interesting information on different issues . We created a truly European Union Prison Information System , where you can easily access numbers from other countries , and get information about prisons in other countries .
JT : EuroPris implica una gran diversidad de países con diferentes niveles de desempeño económico , diferentes perspectivas y niveles de madurez de sus sistemas carcelarios ... Y hoy en día , está el tema del Brexit ...
¿ Cuáles son los principales retos a los que se enfrentan los sistemas penitenciarios en Europa ?
HM : El hecho de que el Reino Unido pueda dejar la Unión Europea no tendrá un grande impacto para nosotros . Como saben , El Reino Unido ya estaba fuera del programa de justicia . Es importante decir que queríamos tratar a todos en el mismo nivel , ya se trate de un país pequeño o de un país grande . Cualquier país tiene la misma posibilidad de hacerse miembro de EuroPris , siempre y cuando pertenezcan a la UE o a Estados relacionados como Noruega . Decidimos que cada jurisdicción debería aportar unos cuantos miles de euros ... los grandes pagan € 7500 , y los más pequeños pagan € 3000 , por lo que se hizo accesible a todo el mundo . La segunda cosa es que hemos hecho es proporcionar un retorno inmediato de la inversión .
We work in an environment where the execution of sentences is becoming much closer . Everybody is talking about European standard rules , United Nations ’ standard rules , Mandela ’ s rules , and how to execute them in daily life . We exchange our information on an open platform , so that we don ’ t have to reinvent the wheel again , and again and again . We simply exchange information without any limits from one country to another ( this includes information on what works and does not work , tender documents and requirements , etc ). We also have a process to deal with confidential information that cannot be shared openly like measures against radicalisation or terrorism , is an example .
JT : How would you see EuroPris evolving as an organization ?
HM : Currently we count 30 members and we are becoming more and more professional . We will become , a network – related organization that works based on common themes . We have 7 to 8 big themes that are really important to our business and have expert groups that meet once or twice a year to discussed these and share their knowledge . Our knowledge management and information system will become more and more important – you can put a question online and within a few days you have 10 to 12 countries answering it . It is all about knowledge sharing and knowledge creation . Traditionally it was all about the police , it was all about the magistrates ... With the creation of EuroPris we became – at higher – level in Europe but also at national and regional levels – a respected partner that contributes and is listened . A partner that that is not waiting to execute but that interacts and influences policy .
J U N E / J U N I O 2017 JUSTICE TRENDS // 19