Visits to detention centres or prison establishments by probation staff are also postponed and
replaced as much as possible with remote means of communication in many countries;
When multi-agency or multi-disciplinary teams are involved, guidance is provided in some
countries on how to share tasks and how to conduct remote and home visits where more than
one agency is involved;
When Probation offices are closed local authorities and other stakeholders are informed and a
sign is placed on the door providing a duty telephone number for emergency contact;
Sentence plans are adapted so that activities which can be done from home are included.
Treatment programmes which require attending group sessions are suspended and individual
programmes which can be carried out via electronic means from home are maintained. Phone
and video calls are used for all types of contacts, supervision or consultations;
Higher risk offenders are identified and prioritised for supervision and intervention/treatment
purposes, especially those with history of domestic violence;
In most countries community service has been stopped or postponed. When community service
work is not maintained, the enforcement of the sentence is suspended until further notice or is
considered as expired with a limited content of interventions for low risk offenders;
In countries/jurisdictions where community service is maintained health safety measures are
implemented:
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Follow the social distancing guidelines of keeping a distance of 1.5 meters from each
other;
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Staff wears masks and gloves when in contact with clients to avoid contamination going
both directions;
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Follow the key principles and recommendations contained in the European Probation
Rules (2010), Article 50. Health and safety precautions shall adequately protect offenders
assigned to community service and shall be no less rigorous than those applied to other
workers;
Regarding programmes related to dealing with low risk substance abuse, including driving
related offences, some probation services were given guidance to end the execution of the
sentence instead of its interruption;
Probation service website news and social media are being maintained and updated regularly to
provide information and guidance;
Communication among probation staff as well as with other stakeholders and partners (like
courts, police, prosecution, prison service, healthcare service, municipalities) is done remotely
by phone, mail or videoconferencing;
In some countries the probation staff is separated into two teams each of which works for 14
consecutive days followed by a mandatory confinement of 14 days at home in order to counter
as much as possible the spread of the virus. In other countries staff works from home and once
a week goes to the office to avoid contacting colleagues as much as possible;
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