Support the scaling-up of the probation service in Armenia

The “Support the Scaling-Up of the Probation Service in Armenia” Project is part of the Council of Europe Action Plan for Armenia 2019-2022. It is implemented by the Council of Europe in cooperation with the main partners, namely the Ministry of Justice of Armenia and the State Probation Service.

This 32-months project is a project which aims at assisting the national authorities to fully endorse the concept of probation in practice through providing the necessary legislative, institutional and operational framework that will facilitate the use of probation services in the country, thus enhancing community safety and the fair administration of justice. Changes are envisaged at both the level of perception as well as operating/legislative framework, to ensure compliance with Council of Europe Recommendation CM/Rec(2010)1 of the Committee of Ministers to member states on the Council of Europe Probation Rules.

To this end, and in line with the principles arising from the Council of Europe’s Recommendation (2010)1 on Probation Rules, support has been provided at the following levels:

to build a longterm plan ensuring the commitment of Armenian authorities in sustainable manner;
to increase the scope and areas of work covered by the State Probation Service with the revision and or development of relevant legislation;
to enhance the skills and knowledge of probation officers;
to introduce new working tools and working methodologies;
to secure the cooperation with the judiciary, community and civil society, as well as increase the awareness of wider public.

Namely, in line with the European Probation Rules, it was expected that once fully operational, the Armenian Probation Service will:

contribute to a fair criminal justice process as well as to public safety by preventing and reducing the occurrence of offences;
support the criminal proceedings through advisory reports and mediation;
implement non-custodial sanctions measures in line with the applicable legislation;
facilitate the re-integration of offenders.

The amount devoted to this project is EUR 871,995.

Its implementation started in October 2019 and ended in December 2022.

Project documentation

Useful information

PROJECT NEWS

Back Working Group Session on Risk and Needs Assessment Tool in Armenia

@ Council of Europe

During the working group meeting on risk and needs assessment tool held online on 10 August 2020 via KUDO platform, some key questions, such as an outline of the revised tool, its sections, methods of scoring, piloting and validation of the revised tool, development of guidelines for probation officers to ensure smooth application of revised tool, were discussed.

Ms. Arpi Sargsyan, the Head of Department for Developing Criminal Legislation, Penitentiary & Probation Policy of the Ministry of Justice of Armenia expressed her overall satisfaction with the smooth implementation of the activity. She also noted that the Ministry of Justice will adjust the timeline proposed by the strategic document on probation to follow the progress of activities on the revision of current risk and needs assessment tool (also a software part) envisaged by the Project and its further piloting to ensure utmost effectiveness of the revised tool.

The meeting was attended by representatives of the Ministry of Justice, Probation Service, local and international experts of the Council of Europe and project management. This activity was organised under the framework of the Council of Europe project “Support the scaling-up of the probation service in Armenia” (financed by the CoE Action Plan for Armenia 2019 – 2022) that aims at assisting the national authorities to fully endorse the concept of probation in practice in Armenia.

Armenia 10 August 2020