What ELS?
Toon Molleman on putting humanity, dignity and reintegration at the core of the prison system.
Toon Molleman is the National Director of the prison and immigration detention division of the Dienst Justitiële Inrichtingen (DJI), the Netherlands’ custodial agency within the Ministry of Justice and Security. Throughout his career, Toon has been a fierce advocate for restorative incarceration - working to change the systems, the culture and the narrative to ensure that time in prison is designed as a time of opportunity, through an experience that centers humanity, dignity and balanced power dynamics. In this episode, Toon explains how the Risk-Need-Responsivity model (RNR) has been guiding his practice to foster rehabilitation and reduce recidivism. A highly effective behaviour change model, RNR is rooted in criminology yet can be applied to many other sectors where the consideration of the audience’s responsivity, learning style, strengths, abilities, and inherent motivation are considered key levers to foster positive behaviour change. This episode is part of ‘Transformative ideas for better futures’ , a collection we curated to highlight a selection of innovative and bold ideas from across the world that have proven their potential for long term systems transformation. In our conversations with the leaders and practitioners who have applied and experimented with these ideas, models and frameworks, we uncover their stories of innovation, hands-on practice, and action learning. These leaders are at the forefront of the radical change our societies need. They offer insights and guidance that will inspire and equip others to follow in their footsteps and contribute to a fairer, more equitable and more sustainable world. What ELS? is a podcast by the Brian Picot Chair in Ethical Leadership | Aritahi , at Te Herenga Waka – Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. It is curated and produced by advisory firm Pocketknife .
