UNMIK/PR/1274
PRISTINA – A second group of 28 Probation Officers has successfully completed a four-week intensive induction program, held at the Kosovo Police Service School in Vushtrri/Vucitrn. The graduation ceremony today was officiated by Mr. William Irvine, Head of Penal Management/Kosovo Correctional Service, who is also the Head of the Probation Service in Kosovo. These officers will now go through the next step of field training for three months. The first group of 20 Probation Officers graduated on 12 December 2003.
Since the inception of the Probation Service pilot project in Pristina in December 2001, three regional offices have been set up in Pristina, Mitrovica and Prizren. A number of the new Probation Officers will be staffing the regional offices in Peja/Pec and Gjilan/Gnjilane, which are expected to be opened in December 2004.
The Probation Service in Kosovo prepares social surveys for courts as requested prior to criminal sentencing and supervises adults and juveniles under various conditions ordered by the court when imprisonment is not imposed. The Probation Service will also be providing supervision of ‘conditionally released’ persons from Kosovo Correctional facilities.
The existing Criminal Code and Juvenile Justice Code provide the basis for a number of alternatives to imprisonment which require the active intervention of probation officers.