3Oct

Development of the Probation Services in Croatia

On Friday, 30th September 2011, the Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of Croatia, the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Croatia, the Ministry of Justice of the United Kingdom and the Probation and Mediation Service of the Czech Republic marked the official start of IPA Twinning project “Development of the Probation Services in Croatia”. The purpose of this project, worth €1.2 million EUR, is to support the Croatian Ministry of Justice in the establishment of sustainable development of a National Probation service. The project will support the recently established Directorate for Probation and Victim and Witnesses Support within the Ministry of Justice, to develop its central services and procedures for the delivery of probation services to courts, prisons and communities across Croatia. This may contribute towards a reduction of the number of people serving sentences in custody and increase the level of humanity and human rights protection.

The project is of great importance for Croatia in the framework of the EU accession process. Through this Twinning project, the EU will support the development of an efficient probation service that will work in the community in order to protect the public and decrease the risk of recidivism. Through the rehabilitation and reintegration of offenders into society the probation service will help ensure the protection of human rights and needs of victims.

The project duration is from June 2011 until March 2013. The project is financed under the IPA 2008 programme. The Leader Member State institution is the Ministry of Justice of the United Kingdom, and the Junior Partner Member State institution is the Probation and Mediation Service of the Czech Republic.

The expected results of the project are:

-          The Directorate for Probation and Victims and Witnesses Support prepared for the effective management of the new Probation Service through institution building

-          The Offender Risk and Needs Assessment tool finalised and training of personnel on the usage of the tool conducted

-          Capacity building of the Directorate for Probation and Victims and Witnesses Support performed.