What comes after the deradicalisation training?

Phase 1

The whole training ends with a joint assessment. During the group training, all participants present their personal change process and receive feedback from the group. In the individual training, the presentation of the change process and the feedback round only take place with the trainers.

At the end of both types of training, the participants receive a certificate. The handover of the certificate emphasises the significance of the joint work and the hope that the learnt material will be successfully implemented.

For the training to be successful, it is essential to prepare the participants for life outside prison and to transfer what they have learnt to their future day-to-day life and to anchor it there. Transition management and stabilisation coaching serve this purpose.

Phase 2

The release from prison represents a crisis for most participants and can quickly lead to a relapse into old behaviour patterns. The purpose of transition management is to maintain contact between the trainer and the participant during the period between the end of the training and release from prison. It is a support system tailored to individual needs and prepares for the expected challenges and problems after release from prison. It primarily focuses on future and resource work, in which perspectives and possibilities for the time after imprisonment are realistically identified. Relatives and family, but also friends and acquaintances, are already consulted for the support during the transition management. In coordination with social services and other responsible employees of the prison, local networks are activated as needed. Moreover, contacts to youth and social welfare offices, job centres and similar are established to ensure that they are available in the stabilisation coaching phase after release from prison.

The risks and problems that await the participants after release are addressed in the transition management: Old group structures, temptations and requirements can quickly overwhelm. In this context, a safety plan will be generated, which the participants can use to tackle risks and conflict situations in a secure manner. For example, situations are acted out and possible options for action are pointed out. Threat scenarios by the old group are also discussed and, if necessary, the move to another city is prepared.

Personal safety plan

As the date of the release approaches, the transition management team focuses on preparing for the near future, planning the young peoples‘ daily lives and cementing the initiated behavioural changes. The participants discuss their prospects and talk about their goals and fears. At this point, it is important for them to know their strengths and weaknesses and realistically assess their options and limitations to avoid renewed frustration experiences. The participants are made aware of which situations trigger their problematic behaviour. The trainers also point out which risks exist, which coping strategies should take place in specific triggering situations and what happens when they return to old social relationships. How can I react when the old group waits ‘outside’, tries to make contact or even sets up a threat scenario? What must happen and what alternatives to old behavioural patterns are there? To what extent can conflicts within the family be dealt with if the family itself is entangled in extremist structures or advocates extremist ideological elements? The safety plan conveys possible coping strategies for these scenarios.

Networking

Within the training sessions and transition management, the trainers communicate with the responsible personnel in the prison. At the end of the training, a development report is sent to the prison and, if necessary, it is processed again with the responsible personnel. The participants must consent to the disclosure of information based on applicable data protection laws. An exception to this rule is information that may pose a threat to the participants themselves or to other persons. Due to the previously established trust between trainer and participant, this rarely poses a problem.

You can read all about our tertiary prevention in prisons in English language here and in German language here.