On the 3 rd of September 2025, Tony Swaine of the Irish Probation Service gave a presentation on the CoPPer Project to new staff of the Irish Probation Service as part of their Induction. This took place at the Irish Probation Service’s headquarters in Dublin and there were thirty-two people in attendance. It was a great way to raise awareness amongst new staff of the work of the CoPPer Project with new staff to the Service, who will work alongside Community Based Organisati

On the 27 th of June 2025, Tony Swaine of the Irish Probation Service gave a presentation on the CoPPer Project to a group of leaders from Probation funded Community Based Organisations at the Irish Probation Service’s headquarters in Dublin. There were ten people in attendance. Tony provided information on what the CoPPer Project is, its aims and the work packages that made up the project. He provided an overview of the training programme that has been developed for volunte

The CoPPer project  has come to an inspiring close, celebrating its journey with a vibrant final conference held in The Hague, the Netherlands . Participants from across Europe — including Portugal, the Netherlands, Romania, Estonia, Germany, Ireland, and Turkey — and even Japan  came together to mark this important milestone. The event was much more than a closing ceremony; it was a space for sharing experiences, exchanging knowledge, and highlighting the impact that CoPPer

At the CBO Summit last Thursday 23rd October we heard from panel discussions on a variety of topics of relevance and interest to those working in the criminal justice sector. One panel discussion in the afternoon was on the topic of Volunteerism in Probation. This panel included  Tony Swaine , Senior Probation Officer with the Irish Probation Service, Dr  Katharina Swirak , Lecturer and Deputy Head of the Department of Sociology and Criminology at  University College Cork , 

Ronan Mc Loughlin , APPO, The Probation Service, attended the annual  Association for Criminal Justice Research and Development (ACJRD)  conference in Dublin, Ireland last week. The conference was focused on Youth Justice and its evolving needs. Ronan spoke to the conference on the growing demand for volunteers in the justice sector and the need to support them through effective training and service development. He spoke about the CoPPer project, its planned launch in Novembe

CoPPer  Project members, Dr  Katharina Swirak , University College Cork, and Tony Swaine, Irish Probation Service met with Joseph Keaney of the Irish Probation Service’s Community Based Organisations Unit, Laura Walsh, CEO Le Chéile Mentoring, and Alan Quinn, Regional Manager with  Le Chéile Mentoring  online on Friday 10 October to plan an input on Volunteerism in Probation at the upcoming Irish Probation Service’s Community Based Organisation (CBO) Summit.  The CBO Summit w

Dennis is a volunteer for the International Bureau, probation Service Holland. He visits Dutch citizens who are in prison in Brazil. One...

After a dedicated journey of fostering collaboration, innovation, and volunteering in probation services across Europe, the...

Dr. Katharina Swirak and Ute Krenzer from University College Cork took part in the transnational training event held in Portugal in May....

CoPPer partners at University College Cork are preparing for a Transnational Training event in Lisbon which will take place from the...

My first days at Rechtsfürsorge e.V. Resohilfe Lübeck (Legal Aid Lübeck), Kleine Kiesau in Lübeck, Germany        As part of my PhD, I am...

On February 5, 2025, the Dutch Probation Service participated in a symposium on working with volunteers in the forensic sector. During...

The piloting phase with volunteers is now underway. The Dutch Probation Service conducted three different pilot sessions with a wide...

One of my experiences as a supervisor still stands out to me. In preparation for my new client, I read his report. A serious crime was...

This meeting, attended by all partners, welcomed guest Steve Pitts, CEP Ambassador, sharing perspectives on the role of volunteers...

The Le Chéile Mentoring Project in Ireland has set a strong example of how community-driven initiatives can support young people in the...

We are thrilled to announce the launch of our blended-learning training course for volunteers in probation! This initiative will be...

For the Copper training course for volunteers in probation, the Copper project team prepared a series of webinars to introduce trainees...

The CoPPer probation volunteer training programme consists of different modules. The introductory module focuses on the basics of...

The CoPPer team, led by our Dutch colleagues, is currently developing the training content for the project’s European wide training...