Probation offices appropriately fulfill their duties, UNICEF – Moldova

The 42 probation offices do a proper work. The delinquent minors there help the people in the local community without being isolated from their fellows, Lina Botnaru, spokeswoman for UNICEF – Moldova, has told Info-Prim Neo. The probation is a system that offers the offenders the chance to expiate their guilt not going to prison and this is important especially for minors. They are involved in community service and remain integrated in the society, Lina Botnaru said. The basis of the probation system in Moldova was laid in 2002. Then, UNICEF helped create the first probation models in three districts of the country. The service was developed in cooperation with the Ministry of Justice and NGOs working in the area. In 2005, the Government of Moldova pledged to create the probation system under the Ministry of Justice. In 2007, there were opened 42 probation offices all over the country. Last year, the legal framework was finalized by adopting the law on probation. The law regulates the cases involving children and defines the work of the probation officers. Under the law, every district must have by a probation officer.