RESCALED European Symposium on Detention Houses

21st March 2024

On 20 and 21 March 2024 RESCALED hosted their European Symposium on Detention Houses in Brussels, which comprised of a busy pre-conference event on the first day and the formal Symposium on the second day. IPRT Policy and Research Coordinator and Detention House Ambassador for Ireland, Pamela Drumgoole, attended the event alongside other esteemed Irish company.

For anyone new to the concept, detention houses are a small-scale, differentiated, community-integrated alternative to 'traditional' prisons. At their heart, they contribute to sustainable, safe, and inclusive societies. More resources about this concept of dentention are available on the RESCALED website.

The European Symposium on Detention Houses brought together diverse perspectives and expertise from across Europe, sharing knowledge about inspirational practices, addressing significant challenges and most of all, fostering a community committed to justice reform. 

The pre-conference event brought together experts by experience and others working in related areas across Europe, allowing attendees to share knowledge and insights. A day of unpacking and evaluating what attendees knew, assessing draft rules on detention houses, and mapping the complex ecosystems of detention houses gave people at the event the opportunity to explore and discuss nuances, challenge our understandings, and visualise the interconnectedness of all-things detention houses.

The formal Symposium, which took place in the Belgian Senate, firmly materialised the mission of placing detention houses on the European agenda. This was a milestone event, hosted under the auspices of the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the European Union 2024, with rousing calls to action from Belgian Minister of Justice and the North Sea Paul Van Tigchelt.

The esteemed panel with Irish Prison Service Director General Caron McCaffrey, Ewelina Dobrowolska, Franc Weerwind, Jan-Erik Sandlie, Karel Dvořák and Paul Van Tigchelt showed that there is political will in Europe to support this system change. 

Attendees were reminded of the importance of seeing detention houses as a shared responsibility of justice, education and employment and encouraged us to look beyond the different ‘silos’, departments or directorates-general we’re working in.

People from the world’s first prison-based coffee roasters, gave an invaluable contribution to this symposium: “People who have lived experience, give them a permanent seat in decision-making. I think we can change the world.”

The Symposium showcased examples of how our pioneering European peers are embracing the concept of detention houses and gave attendees food for thought on issues to explore on the road to systemic change. 

At a time when the repeating Irish news cycle spotlights prison overcrowding and prison expansion, Minister Van Tigchelt words on the model of prison, despite the best efforts of many, "is not working" rings true. As Irish Prison Service Director General Caron McCaffrey stated at the event, given the costs - financial and social - of traditional imprisonment, we need "a shift in the value proposition of imprisonment".

Reflecting on the event, Pamela Drumgoole said:

"Hearing of the political imagination and courage for change from across different corners of Europe is cause for cautious optimism. While the detention house model is not a panacea nor a silver bullet, it offers part of the blueprint for progressive change."

• Read more about the event on the RESCALED website.