The number of persons monitored electronically by the National Probation Inspectorate in the first half of this year increased twice compared with the corresponding period last year. A number of 684 persons were supervised electronically in January – June 2022, IPN reports, quoting the Ministry of Justice.

Also, the number of convictions to community service grew the last few years. In the first half of this year, there were applied over 3,800 punishments in the form of community service, an increase of 3% compared with the first six months of last year. Estimates show the local budgets saved over 6.2 million lei from community service.

Over 100 minors were engaged in re-socialization and reintegration activities and benefitted from psychological, family or educational assistance, legal aid and training courses.

“There is place for the improvement of the work of the National Probation Inspectorate. There are areas that need to be reformed. The Ministry of Justice will support the legislative proposals aimed at enhancing probation and aligning the practices to the best European models, increasing integrity among probation service employees, developing probation programs, promoting alternative punishments to detention as we aim to reduce the pressure of crowdedness in penitentiaries,” Minister of Justice Sergiu Litvinenco stated in a meeting where the NPI presented a progress report.

One of the Ministry’s priorities is to wider promote probation programs. In the first half of this year, the National Probation Inspectorate implemented 11 probation programs that involved 744 persons, by 10% more than in the corresponding period last year. The goal of these programs is to correct the delinquent behavior, to reduce the risk of recidivism and to reintegrate persons who committed offenses into society.