IMPLEMENTATION UNDER NATIONAL LAW measures are usually not available to the preventive measures system (including security measures and preventive detention).274 On the other hand, there are various non-custodial measures that may be ordered by the court, in combination with a conditional suspension of the measures. These include, among others, the order to live at a certain residence with a specific family or in a specific home/facility; to undergo another form of outpatient care or to receive care in a daily structure; additionally, the court may order specific treatment measures (including psychotherapeutic or medical treatment), which requires the consent of the person concerned.275 The Austrian law provides, however, that the court must examine whether it can refrain from the execution of a security measure or preventive detention because the dangerousness can be countered with other measures.276 As a rule, probation services should also be ordered unless they are exceptionally dispensable.277 Similarly, in Germany, when ordering compulsory treatment in a forensic psychiatric institution, the court may suspend the deprivation of liberty and order probation measures if the aim of the forensic psychiatric treatment can be achieved without deprivation of liberty.278 In this case, an intensive form of offender supervision of conduct will be in place (Führungsaufsicht). Probation might not necessarily function as an alternative to deprivation of liberty (replacing confinement in an institution), inasmuch as it can actually prolong the period that a person spends under the net of criminal justice sanctions. For example, in Italy, persons may be sentenced to the REMS for no longer than the maximum sentence for the offence committed. However, once discharged from the REMS, in 56% of cases the measure is transformed into probation.279 It has been noted by experts, however, that in some cases, the aftercare provided through probation services might be a beneficial form of continuity of care, in the absence of which persons may struggle to adapt to community living. 76 Several countries provide for non-custodial measures – either linked to discontinuing the criminal proceedings or as a part of conditional release or probation – that consist of the obligation to participate in a form of therapy (e.g., psychotherapy) or undergoing outpatient treatment at a healthcare institution in the community or open wards (e.g., in Czech Republic and Germany). For example, in Italy, data suggests that about 80% of probation prescriptions require residence in a therapeutic or rehabilitative community.280 It is important to mention that while outpatient compulsory treatment is generally preferable to inpatient compulsory treatment, it constitutes a security measure nevertheless. It should also be noted that in countries where outpatient care is available, there is often inadequate geographical coverage, with services being available primarily in urban areas. The punitive nature of outpatient compulsory treatment is especially of concern in Italy, where there exists no maximum duration for probation, meaning a person who is ordered into probation in a therapeutic community (as an alternative to being sentenced to prison or the REMS) could, in theory, be under probation indefinitely.281 With regard to non-custodial measures that could be imposed on persons with intellectual and/or psychosocial disabilities who have been convicted of a criminal offence, options that are already in place in some countries for certain groups might prove suitable. While innovative solutions are needed, adapting some practices that are already in place could be a pragmatic option in some cases. For example, in Austria, social net conferences, originally introduced as an alternative to custody for juveniles, can now also be applied for adults. The social net conference is a specific program that brings together members of the social environment of the person concerned (in the context of criminal proceedings) as well as other relevant actors (e.g., representatives of extramural facilities) with the aim of developing a binding future plan for the person concerned in order to avoid deprivation of liberty (by way of conditionally suspending the custodial measure or conditional release). (See case study in Annex 1)