UNMIK/PR/1670 - UNMIK Countdown #19
PRISTINA - By implementing a Probation Service in Kosovo, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Kosovo Correctional Service (KCS) have proved to be pioneers in the Balkans, providing Kosovo with a modern community-based corrections service which offers “alternative sanctions and measures to imprisonment” that have proved to be successful in most western countries for well over 20 years.
Today, there are five regional Probation offices, with a Probation Headquarters in Pristina, with a staff of 64 Kosovars, who are all professionally trained Probation Officers. Continued training is being provided by the Swedish Probation Service and the Council of Europe. Currently, 258 persons are being supervised in the community with Alternative Sanctions by the Probation Service. Since the Probation Service got operational, a total number of 669 persons have been supervised in the community with Alternative Sanctions.
Since February 2006 the Probation Service of Kosovo has also assumed responsibility for initially supervising prisoners on conditional release from prison. There have been a total of 117 prisoners released under the supervision of the Probation Service, with 67 currently being supervised.
The concept of Probation in Kosovo was first considered by the Head of DOJ’s Penal Management Division (PMD) in 2000 with the help of the Italian and Danish Probation Services who seconded Probation staff to help draft the necessary legal framework and set up a Probation Service in Kosovo. Different consultants from Italy, Denmark, Luxembourg and Sweden have been working under PMD/KCS since 2000 to assist in the implementation of a probation service in Kosovo.
In March 2007, the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) initialled an agreement on parole and probation with the Swedish government, whereby Sweden will provide experts over the next two years to train and advise Kosovo probation officers in dealing with conditionally released prisoners and prisoners sentenced to non-custodial punishment. Following the transfer of UNMIK competencies in corrections and probation to the PISG Ministry of Justice (MOJ), the assistance will now be provided directly to the MOJ Probation Service which is fully run by Kosovo professional staff. The Swedish authorities' support in this area has been critical in the establishment and development of the Kosovo Probation Service and this agreement will ensure that the professional level achieved so far is not only maintained but improved.
