27-04-2023 10:32
The Deputy Minister of Justice Maria Pavlova led a delegation of heads and experts from the Directorate General for execution of punishments (GDEP), which discussed in Stockholm opportunities for future cooperation between the correction systems of Bulgaria and Sweden. The visit to the Swedish capital is part of the project “Strengthening the implementation of alternative measures of imprisonment”, funded by the Norwegian Financial Mechanism 2014-2021. One of the main objectives of the project is to increase the competences of probation workers and to update the tool for risk assessment and interventions concerning the offenders.
During the talks in the head office of the Swedish Prison and Probation Service, the Deputy Minister thanked for the commitment and for the opportunity to build cooperation in working with convicted persons. “It is of utmost importance for us to upgrade and expand the scope of the used methodologies, programs and way of working with offenders in view of their future resocialization,” said Maria Pavlova. She added that the Ministry of Justice and GDEP make efforts and implement concrete actions aimed at complying with the international requirements for the treatment of offenders. At the meeting, it was pointed out that together with the partners from the Kingdom of Norway, an analysis has already been prepared and an evaluation of the implemented societal impact programs has been made, a new toolkit for risk assessment and the development of a software platform are to be developed.
The hosts expressed readiness to explore the possibilities for developing bilateral relations and strengthening the exchange of experience, more specifically in improving the tool used in our country to assess offenders.
The working visit continues with an overview of the risk assessment tools in Sweden and a visit to a probation service in Stockholm.