International organisations and cooperation bodies

International prison and probation organisations

Confederation of European Probation CEP

The Confederation of European Probation CEP was established in 1981 and its goal is to contribute to safer communities by rehabilitating and reintegrating offenders and providing the best possible interventions to reduce offending and the impact of crime. CEP organises conferences and open webinars, collects and shares information on community sanctions, and brings together experts. Pia Andersson, who works as a senior specialist at the Prison and Probation Service of Finland, is a CEP Board Member for the term of 2022-2025. In addition, the Prison and Probation Service of Finland is actively involved in the CEP network of experts.
Find out more about (cep-probation.org)

European Prison Education Association EPEA

The European Prison Education Association EPEA aims to promote education in prison, the professional competence of teachers working in prison, the cooperation with other parties, and the research on prison education. EPEA organises a conference every two years. The association was founded in 1993 and the Prison and Probation Service of Finland joined it in 2014.
Find out more about (epea.org)

European Penitentiary Training Academies EPTA

The European Penitentiary Training Network EPTA was founded in 2010 and the Prison and Probation Service of Finland joined in 2018. The aim of the network is to develop cooperation between the training institutions focusing on the basic and further training of prison and probation staff. The main forms of activity include annual conferences and bilateral sharing of information and visits.
Find out more about (epta.info)

European Organisation of Prison and Correctional Services EuroPris

The European Organisation of Prison and Correctional Services EuroPris was founded in 2011. It has 35 members. The organisation aims to enhance public safety and security by developing the standards and practices concerning prison conditions in Europe sand to reduce re-offending and advance professionalism in prison services. EuroPris organises various events, expert meetings, workshops and conferences in which the Prison and Probation Service of Finland participates actively. We are also involved in the EuroPris expert groups, which focus on different themes, such as safety and security, human resources, transfer of prisoners between EU countries and ICT in prison.

EuroPris collects a vast amount of statistics on prisons and maintains to separate databases, which all members can use when needed. The International Affairs Unit of the Prison and Probation Service coordinates the responses to the questionnaires received via EuroPris. Basic information on the European prison services and prisons is recorded in the European Prison Information System EPIS (europris.org) . The responses from national prison services to various questionnaires concerning the field are collected in the Knowledge Management System (europris.org) .
Find out more about (europris.org)

International Corrections & Prisons Association ICPA

ICPA is a global prison and probation organisation established in 1998 and its members include, among others, public sector agencies, researchers, non-governmental organisations and business entrepreneurs throughout the world. The goal of the association is to promote and share ethical correctional practices and, thus, enhance public safety and healthier communities worldwide. The Prison and Probation Service of Finland became a member of ICPA in the summer 2018.
Find out more about (icpa.org)

International Round Table for Correctional Excellence IRCE

IRCE is a network of the directors generals of the prison and probation services from countries with similar values and views on the development of criminal sanctions. The network includes the directors general of the prison and probation services of the Netherlands, Belgium, Ireland, Canada, Norway, Sweden, Scotland, Finland, Denmark and New Zealand.

Other organisations

Council of Europe

The Council of Europe is the oldest and largest cooperation and human rights organisation in Europe. Its Member States have approved the European conventions and recommendations concerning the prison and probation services.

The European Committee on Crime Problems CDPC (coe.int) was established in 1958. The CDPC is responsible for overseeing and coordinating the activities of the Council of Europe to prevent and control crime. The CDPC has an advisory body called the Council for Penological Co-operation PC-CP (coe.int) . The Ministry of Justice represents Finland in these committees.

The Council of Europe collects annual penal statistics called SPACE (coe.int) on the prison and probation services in its 46 Member States. The European Prison Rules and Probation Rules, which were created by the Council of Europe based on joint preparation and decisions, are key documents that outline the national prison and probation policies. In addition, the Council of Europe organises the Conference of Directors of Prison and Probation Services (CDPPS) annually.

The Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) (coe.int) supervises the rights and treatment of persons deprived of their liberty in the Member States of the Council of Europe. CPT has extensive authority to inspect places of detention in the Member States and, hence, carries out regular inspections in Finland, too.

European Union EU

The European Union has an influence on the activities of the Member States in various ways. However, EU does not have direct authority over criminal policy, apart from the transfer of prison sentences. From the perspective of the enforcement of sentences, the important instruments are the Council Framework Decisions regulating the mutual recognition of judgements in criminal matters and the transfer of sentenced persons from one country to another.

Experts of the prison and probation services are occasionally needed in EU crisis management operations. In addition, the EU funding is important for many projects concerning the prison and probation services. For example, EU’s Twinning, TAIEX, and ESF project funding are often used in international cooperation projects and Erasmus+ funding in staff training and development projects. In addition, the EU Justice Programme finances many projects and organisations, such as EuroPris and CEP, which both have an important role in developing the prison and probation services.

International Committee of the Red Cross ICRC

One of the aims of the ICRC is to secure the humane treatment and conditions of detention for detainees. The ICRC visits hundreds of thousands of detainees annually to monitor the conditions of detention. The ICRC visits Finnish prisons, for example, when a prison sentence imposed by an international court is enforced in Finland.
Find out more about (icrc.org)

United Nations UN

The UN acts as a forum for discussion and negotiation between nations and enables them to come to an agreement on common rules and regulations. The UN has defined the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners and organises an annual conference on criminal policies. Criminal policies are also taken into account in the UN peacekeeping operations and the projects under the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

Main UN treaties, resolutions and recommendations concerning the prison and probation services

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