Directorate General
MECR 2025 in Prague
Prague, April 22 (VSCR) - The Prison Service of the Czech Republic hosted the 21st Middle European Correctional Roundtable last week. Altogether, 10 prison services participated in the meeting, and there was an open discussion about the current state and challenges of the prison systems. The meeting's main topic was the staffing situation.
On the second day of the event, a visit to the Czech Prison Service Academy and Stráž pod Ralskem Prison took place. The Academy presented its mock-up prison and court's hearing room for recruits' initial training. The prison showed the newly built inmate visitation facility and staff members' offices, inmate vocational school, and inmate employment.
The participating prison services were from Austria, Croatia, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Switzerland, and, of course, the Czech Republic.
The Middle European Correctional Roundtable (MECR) meetings are distinguished by an informal and open atmosphere for sharing the current information from the jurisdictions. No minutes are taken, contributing to a genuine environment for sharing the best practices and contemporary challenges.
The MECR is a professional platform, originally grouping only the middle European prison services, that has grown, incorporating also other jurisdictions. Today's wider membership portfolio offers fruitful discussions with views from all over Europe while still allowing for a rather time-saving meeting with only one and a half days of working programme.
