Probation. Some European Solutions

The article discusses the legal solutions of probation as well as regulations pertaining to organization of probation services and to functions of probation officers in criminal proceedings of adults and juveniles in some European countries. Discussed has been probation in England, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Greece, Lithuania, Slovenia, Spain, and Sweden. The introduction focuses on the definition of probation; also, the role of international organizations in promoting probation has been characterized together with the importance of recommendations as to the principles and practice, issued by such organizations, for introduction of probation into criminal justice. Considering the future shape of probation, one might ask to what extent we can use those experiences. We believe that some foreign solutions of probation might be added to the Polish legislation in the course of the Polish probation reform which has been going on for several years now. The following problems should in our opinion be reconsidered and possibly regulated in a manner other than the present one. The major and basic issue is the decision as to probation's position with respect to the criminal justice system. The problem is regulated differently in different countries; decisions as to the Polish solutions should be carefully considered. The Commission for Probation Reform, appointed several years ago, suggested that the probation system remain part of the criminal justice system but acquire the status of an autonomous department, an associate and partner of courts. Related to this is the postulate that the work of probation officers be evaluated as to the merits by a competent superior officer and not by the judge as it is today. Also solved should be the problem of a possible separate regulation of juvenile vs. adult probation (as it is the case in many European countries). In such countries, there is also the trend to remove proceedings in cases of offences from juvenile courts and to deal with them within administrative procedure. As regards the measures applied to juveniles, their execution is more and more often handed over to social services. The system for assisting and educating juveniles who break the legal norms or find it otherwise difficult to become integrated with society thus becomes ever more consistent; the competent services cooperate with one another ever more closely and coordination of their work is improved, which enhances the effectiveness of their efforts. What is important for the proper effects of educational work is cooperation of probation services with local government agencies and local communities. Although the road towards this kind of transformation of probation is difficult in Poland and various obstacles may be encountered, it is nevertheless a worth-while effort to use the experience of other countries and to introduce modern legal solutions that have been tested elsewhere