WORK REINTEGRATION OF FORMER OFFENDERS

EUROPEAN PRACTICES AND CHALLENGES IN SERBIA

Abstract

Employment is a key factor in the successful reintegration of ex-offenders, despite barriers such as legal restrictions, stigmatization, and unfavorable employer attitudes. The paper examines the problem of unemployment among this population and institutional responses through employment support programs in Denmark, France, the United Kingdom, Poland, and Serbia, with an additional analysis of specific instruments in the United States, Croatia, and Turkey. The aim of this paper is to identify existing support measures, classify models of post-penal policy, and consider possibilities for improving the situation in the Republic of Serbia through comparative analysis, with a particular focus on mechanisms of subsidization, risk insurance, and legal employment quotas. The study employs comparative and normative methods. The findings indicate that countries apply different post-penal policy models, ranging from universal activation-oriented approaches to more restrictive ones, including measures such as financial benefits, counseling, and employment subsidies. The Republic of Serbia has a basic legal framework, but lacks targeted support and developed statistics, which places it closer to the Polish model, with more pronounced operational shortcomings. It is concluded that sustainable labor market integration requires the development of specific programs and the strengthening of intersectoral cooperation.