Author: Klevis Paloka
Klaudio K. was sentenced by the court of Kurbini to probation, shortly after the police caught him red-handed driving the vehicle while intoxicated. At 8 o'clock in the morning, although the temperatures are below minus, the young man runs to catch the schedule that has been set for him to appear in front of the specialist of the Probation Service.
The 25-year-old confesses to the Albanian Center for Quality Journalism that, according to the court's decision, he has obeyed this obligation for a year.
"I was returning from Tirana, after being at a New Year's Eve party with some friends, when the police stopped me and arrested me because my alcohol level was too high. I had been drinking all night. In addition to being arrested, they also took away my driving license", says Claudio, who turned out to be among the many imprisoned on January 1, 2021.
It was after this violation that his life as a legal immigrant in Italy became complicated. "It would have been better if they had sentenced me to a few months in prison, since I have regular papers in Italy and if I don't show up in time for the renewal of my papers, I could be burned. But I ran away to Italy several times and returned within 3-4 days. During the pandemic it was more difficult for me because Italy was closed, but as soon as the measures were released I traveled to Italy, just to show", concludes the story of Claudio, who before this happened, worked as a mechanic in a factory in Milan. Meanwhile, he is now forced to work at a service station in Kurbin until he completes his sentence.
Like Claudio, almost five thousand citizens are on probation, which includes physical presence or work in the public interest, throughout the country. But during the pandemic, the procedures of appearing in front of the inspector became difficult, since social distancing was needed. The greatest difficulty was encountered by teenagers, who benefited from friendly and restorative justice.
In a UNICEF report on the topic "COVID-19 and Children Deprived of Liberty", it is emphasized that the entire panel for the probation service for the age group under 18 needs to be repaired.
"Revise juvenile probation or supervision requirements (especially physical meetings) to enable physical distancing whenever possible (eg, using technology for meetings or supervision)", it is emphasized in report of UNICEF.
Same stories, fictitious probation service
From the observation carried out by "Sinjalizo", it was observed that the Probation Service, for those convicts who appear in the local directorates, was simply fictitious enough to remove the absence. At the risk of not making the convicted person aware and rehabilitated, it was noticed that the citizen only showed his identity card and the specialist asked him simple questions "what have you done these days", "have you been with people in conflict with the law?". "The verification of the convict's daily life should in fact be carried out by experts who must suddenly check the convict and not the description of the routine, it is left to him to show it -", explained to "Sinjalizo" one of the capital's judges who has often imposed alternative punishments.
Many kilometers away from Kurbin, unlike Claudio, Ernesti is scheduled to appear at 14:00 in the afternoon near the office of the Probation Service in Tirana.
"As soon as I finished the usual procedure, I presented myself to the inspector, signed the papers and now I'm going back home.", says Ernest T., to whom the Court of Tirana assigned as evidence the completion of a professional course, after he was arrested for stealing bicycles.
"I started showing up at the probation service offices in June of last year, when the Tirana court decided to suspend the decision on execution by imprisonment and gave me the decision to start and follow a professional course, since I have only finished the 9-year school", continues the 22-year-old who says that he is attending a course as a plumber at a private institute for young people.
In total, from the data collected by "Sinjalizo", there are about 5 people under alternative punishments, for whom the courts have decided to suspend the decision of execution with imprisonment and probation.
Probation boom
The greatest flow was felt during 2020 when, according to official data, in 2020 alone, the Courts gave this decision to 4597 people. But even though it is a high number, what is emphasized in a report of the General Prosecutor's Office is the fact that the requests of prosecutors have decreased in recent years.
"From the statistical data, it is noted that in 2020 there is a decrease of 3,07% in the number of prosecutor requests for the application of the alternative of prison sentence provided by Article 59 of the Criminal Code "Suspension of the execution of the prison sentence and putting on probation", in 2019 there is a decrease of 4,51% in the number of requests from the prosecutor for the application of the alternative of prison sentence provided by Article 59 of the Criminal Code "Suspension of the execution of the decision with imprisonment and putting on evidence", in 2018 there is an increase of 16,28% in the number of requests by the prosecutor for the application of the alternative of prison sentence, in 2017 there is an increase of 13%, in 2016 there is a decrease of 1% in the number of the prosecutor's requests for the application of the alternative of the prison sentence provided by Article 59 of the Criminal Code "Suspension of the execution of the decision with imprisonment and probation" compared to 2015. While the court's decisions in 2020 have suffered decrease of 4,53% compared to 2019", it is emphasized in the report of the General Prosecutor's Office.
The story of an institution that gives chances, but does it rehabilitate?
Since the beginning of the operation of the Probation Service in 2009 until the end of 2020, the number of persons who have been placed by court decision in one of the alternatives of imprisonment is 47874. It is officially stated that their supervision is carried out on the basis of individual treatment programs.
Thus, only during the last year, the number of convicts with alternative punishments that was added to the number of convicts supervised by the Probation Service, is declared with a figure of 7528 people. Sociologist Gëzim Tushi views this high number of citizens who benefit from the tolerance of the courts due to their low social risk.
"There are those who accept it as a "favor" given to them in order to avoid the intransigence of the criminal sentence, but there are also people who are "disgusted" by the fact that the sentence is served through the probation service, not in prison, but in the community. The public side of the convict's confrontation with the public and the community is a concern for some. But this is a social cost that must be accepted and borne", explained to "Signalizo", Tushi.
Courts suspend sentences
According to the statistics of the Probation Service, the alternative most often given by the courts is suspension of the prison sentence and probation followed by work in the public interest, conditional release, staying at home and finally, in less cases, semi-liberty.
While the criminal offenses that have been committed the most by the people who have been given these measures are the criminal offenses such as: theft, driving a vehicle in an irregular condition, production and sale of narcotics, theft with violence, production and possession of military weapons without permission. and ammunition, violation of traffic rules, intentional serious injury.
Electronic surveillance that was first implemented in 2013 has been blocked for four years.
"For more than four years, we have had a shortage of electronic bracelets, and we have informed the Ministry of Justice about this. The process of placing bracelets has not been carried out by the local Probation Service offices for four years and no orders have been executed", says a source at the Probation Service.
Although in 2017 a tender was made by the Ministry of Justice worth 1.4 million euros for 300 electronic bracelets, the problem has not been solved yet.
Improvisation is not trusted
Sociologist Gëzim Tushi, during the conversation with "Sinjalizo", emphasizes that the probation service system should not be left to spontaneity.
"I believe that the probation system is an innovation in criminal policies that, although there may be operational, temporary failures, it is the right way to create conditions for rehabilitation through the implementation of the law in a more humane and communitarian way, and as a result, it is very useful from the social side to create conditions for the social re-integration of the person sentenced to "probation service". Only this should not be left to spontaneity and cannot be developed without a personalized program in accordance with the individual characteristics and "personal history" of the probationer.”, says the sociologist Gëzim Tushi for the "Albanian Center for Quality Journalism".
