Prison: a breeding ground for radicalisation and violent extremism?

What measures can prison authorities take to detect radicalisation in prison? How should prison staff be selected? How should they be trained to evaluate and manage the risks without abandoning high ethical standards? What role can religious representatives, psychologists, friends and family play?

The appalling images of recent terrorist attacks in Europe and the rest of the world remain in everyone's memory. In the face of such horrendous acts, national governments and international organisations are seeking to identify the root causes of this situation in order to prevent and combat radicalisation, extremism and terrorism.

The profiles and motives of radicalised persons vary considerably, but the first steps towards radicalisation are generally a result of sympathies for radical discourse and of meeting an individual, in person or online, who is already radicalised.

Prisons are one of the places for such contacts. Radicalised prisoners take advantage of the concentrated population in prisons in order to proselytise and develop extremist and terrorist networks.

This publication can help national authorities and professionals answer these questions. It proposes guiding principles, tools and advice based on an approach that emphasises a balance between human rights, security and effective criminal justice.