OSCE Presence in Albania trains probation officers on treatment of juveniles

On 20-22 November 2013, the OSCE Presence in Albania trained 20 probation officers from across the country and the General Directorate of the Probation Service. The training aimed to improve probation officers’ understanding of the specifics of working with juvenile offenders to increase their chances of social reintegration. It focused on familiarizing probation practitioners with effective practices for the offenders’ community-based treatment, to help them develop treatment programmes tailored to the minors’ performed risk and needs assessments.

The training was organized as part of an OSCE project to develop effective probation practices in Albania. Over the years, the Probation Service has been successful in reducing both the cost and the negative effects of imprisonment, and a tangible result of this has been the progressive increase of juvenile offenders under probation.

“Capacity-building of probation officers is an on-going and multifaceted endeavour, as offenders do not only need supervision, but also guidance and assistance for their successful social reintegration,” said Fiorentina Azizi, Head of the Presence’s Rule of Law and Human Rights Department..

Ilir Qafa, the new Probation Service Director-General, said: “A society which aims at increasing the safety of its citizens should be focused on taking the necessary measures to prevent criminal acts on one hand, and to ensure the offenders’ social rehabilitation and integration on the other.”.

The OSCE Presence has played a key role in establishing the Probation Service in Albania, supporting this institution both through capacity-building activities, and helping it enhance co-operation with other institutions involved in alternative punishments. The Presence has also played a significant role in the fields of juvenile justice and developing a child protection system in Albania.