Sitting on a hilly slope in the countryside near Jenin, in the Northern West Bank, the EU-funded Palestinian Civil Police (PCP) Barghasha Correction and Rehabilitation Centre is now up and running. This is the result of a joint effort between the Palestinian Authority, EUPOL COPPS and the Office of European Union Representative to Palestine.

Upholding international standards, this nearly 5,000 square metre facility designed to partially solve the issue of overcrowding, is an institution aiming at reintegrating inmates into the society, ultimately contributing to the overarching mission of promoting public safety through offenders’ rehabilitation.

Regardless of their sentencing, the inmates of the Barghasha Centre have access to a number of activities, including recreational, and, importantly, also to education, providing some the chance of getting get a university degree while in detention.

Currently the one-story building is home to 72 inmates, seven of them are female. The facility can take up to 252 prisoners.

EUPOL COPPS Head of Mission, Karin Limdal, paid a visit to the facility with the European Union Representative in Palestine, Alexandre Stutzmann, the Palestinian Minister of Interior, and the Chief of the PCP on 25 of September, to have an overview of the situation, before the official inauguration next month.

“Within the context of the criminal justice system, rehabilitation of inmates constitutes a pivotal component aimed at reforming and reintegrating individuals into society,” said Ms. Limdal during the visit.  “Shifting from punitive measures toward fostering positive behavioral change leads to a successful reintegration of offenders into society as law-abiding and productive citizens,” she added.

EUPOL COPPS penitentiary advisers, supporting the PCP Correction and Rehabilitation Centres’s work, were also at the Barghasha Centre, being this one of their main focus of their activities for enhancing Palestinian capacities according to international standards.