Back on Track (BOT)
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Denmark
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Name
Back on Track (BOT) |
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Target audience
Inmates charged or convicted of terrorism-related offences, assessed as vulnerable to radicalisation |
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Organisation
Danish Prison and Probation Service |
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Objectives
Help radical inmates abandon far-right, far-left or religious extremism |
Description
The deradicalisation BOT training programme was born in Denmark (Radicalisation Awareness Network [RAN], 2018). This is a government project, originally developed by the Danish Ministry of Social Affairs and Integration in cooperation with the Danish Prison and Probation Services. The development of the programme started in 2011, with the first launch taking place in 2012. Initially, the programme was mainly supported by funds from the European Union, but from 2014 onwards the programme has been adopted as a general Prison Service programme.
BOT aims to develop and test mentoring schemes as a tool to support inmates:
This programme is not just concerned with religiously motivated terrorism but is also concerned with left- and right-wing violent extremism and hate crime. Its aim is to help the inmates – by the intervention of a mentor – to become better at tackling everyday situations, problems and conflicts by:
The role of the mentor will be to support and strengthen the inmate’s motivation to opt for a lifestyle free of crime, and to build new relations in non-criminal and non-extremist environments. The main focus of BOT is to train and coach the mentors, who can then work in a one-to-one capacity with their mentees. The mentors and mentor coaches come from variety of backgrounds including police officers, prison staff, social workers, lawyers, among other professionals.
The programme is implemented as follows:
Following the formal training, BOT also facilitates networking days for the mentors which allows the mentors to meet and share experiences and insights.
The deradicalisation BOT training programme was born in Denmark (Radicalisation Awareness Network [RAN], 2018). This is a government project, originally developed by the Danish Ministry of Social Affairs and Integration in cooperation with the Danish Prison and Probation Services. The development of the programme started in 2011, with the first launch taking place in 2012. Initially, the programme was mainly supported by funds from the European Union, but from 2014 onwards the programme has been adopted as a general Prison Service programme.
BOT aims to develop and test mentoring schemes as a tool to support inmates:
- Who have been charged or convicted of terrorism-related offences;
- Who have been assessed as vulnerable to radicalisation.
This programme is not just concerned with religiously motivated terrorism but is also concerned with left- and right-wing violent extremism and hate crime. Its aim is to help the inmates – by the intervention of a mentor – to become better at tackling everyday situations, problems and conflicts by:
- Motivating them to opt for a lifestyle free of crime;
- Involving the inmates’ network outside prison (e.g., family, friends);
- Assisting with concrete challenges surrounding release (e.g., housing, employment).
The role of the mentor will be to support and strengthen the inmate’s motivation to opt for a lifestyle free of crime, and to build new relations in non-criminal and non-extremist environments. The main focus of BOT is to train and coach the mentors, who can then work in a one-to-one capacity with their mentees. The mentors and mentor coaches come from variety of backgrounds including police officers, prison staff, social workers, lawyers, among other professionals.
The programme is implemented as follows:
- Mentors are trained to develop their skills in areas around coaching, managing conflict and dialogue techniques. They must possess the necessary insight and tools for planning and tailoring a mentorship that also accommodates the fact that the mentee is in prison or remanded in custody;
- Twelve days of training are provided to mentors. These are comprised of:
- Five 2-day sessions developing the different skills needed;
- One 2-day course on radicalisation and extremism provided by the Ministry of Children, Gender Equality, Integration and Social Affairs and the Danish Security and Intelligence Service.
Following the formal training, BOT also facilitates networking days for the mentors which allows the mentors to meet and share experiences and insights.