Together with other two organisations committed to address criminal justice issues in Europe, the European Forum for Restorative Justice (EFRJ) is part of the Criminal Justice Platform Europe (CJPE).
Since 2012, CJPE brings together three organizations working in the fields of detention (EuroPris), Probation (Confederation of European Probation, CEP) and Restorative Justice (EFRJ) ‘to reduce re-offending and the impact of crime and to improve methods of working with victims, communities and offenders throughout Europe.’ CJPE’s special focus for 2015-2017 is on the protection of victims of crime and the prevention of radicalisation. Since July 2017, CJPE organises its annual Criminal Justice Summer Course in Barcelona: the first editions were dedicated to radicalisation, violent extremism and polarisation; in 2020, the Course will be dedicated to responses to sexual violence.
What is the CJPE?
It is a partnership of three network organisations. Each of them – CEP, EuroPris and EFRJ – has a wide membership of organisations from across Europe comprising public authorities, non-governmental organisations, academic institutions and individual experts. The CJPE’s members are equally represented. It is a non-statutory collaboration. The Ministry of Justice in Catalonia supports the CJPE and provides meeting and administration resources in the Centre for Legal Studies, Barcelona.
How was the CJPE started?
In October 2011 a workshop was held in Rotterdam for senior representatives of organisations representing probation, prisons, restorative justice and victims. It was decided to create a new method of collaborating. The CJPE was launched in 2012 with a programme of regular meetings to coordinate activities.
What are its aims?
- To provide strong leadership and cooperation for criminal justice organisations by:
- learning from best practice and what works
- sharing events, evidence and resources
- ensuring effective representations to European bodies, in particular: European Commission, European Parliament, Council of the European Union
- To develop a joint understanding of the chain of needs and responsibilities
- To have a commitment to shared human rights values
- To increase respect and understanding for members’ work
- To achieve financial sustainability for members’ pan-European work
CJPE Priorities 2018 -2020
- Collaboration on issues of relevance for all three organisations: prison, restorative justice, probation
- Support the implementation of European and other international regulations
- Promote offenders’ and victims’ rights
- Make societies safer
- Cross-professional exchange
- Share knowledge
- Improve professionalism of criminal justice practitioners
Current Activities
- Annual Criminal Justice Summer Course
- Contributions to relevant international conferences
- Representation and consultation with European bodies
Contacts
- CJPE, Clara Casado Coronas, Development Manager clara.casado@gencat.cat
- CEP – Willem van der Brugge, Secretary General sg@cep-probation.org
- EFRJ – Edit Törzs, Executive Director edit.torzs@euforumrj.org
- EuroPris – Gustav Tallving , Executive Director gustavtallving@europris.org
