The moment a convicted offender leaves prison is particularly important because this is when they can either successfully reintegrate back into society or on the contrary, be drawn into reoffending. This is true for all types of offenders and particularly so for those sentenced for offences related to violent extremism or terrorism. For them, the time of release and probation offers a precious window of opportunity to ensure they have indeed abandoned the radical ideologies that inspired their crime and are supported in re-integrating into society.

Local authorities have a key role to play in coordinating multi-agency cooperation to this end. Their experience in conducting local prevention policies against radicalisation that leads to violent extremism and in minimising the risk of reoffending make them important players when it comes to supporting the rehabilitation and reintegration of extremist offenders.

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The ‘Preventing radicalisation through probation and release – PREPARE’ Project published a ‘Perspectives and Practices at the Local Level’ study mapping out and assessing the strategies and plans of several European countries to prevent radicalization through prison, probation and release with a special focus on the role of the local authorities in this process, and also by identifying promising practices of reintegration and rehabilitation. The report presents the state of the art in seven European countries, showcases nine innovative local projects conducted by municipalities across Europe, and outlines the way forward to better equip local authorities to re-socialise offenders and prevent radicalization in probation and release.

The report is published by the European Forum for Urban Security (Efus) and is a result from the PREPARE Project, carried out between 2017 and 2019.