The Probation Service is a crucial component of state organization and operation, as this institution\'s purpose is to oversee alternative sentencing, thereby ensuring the rehabilitation of individuals subject to such sanctions. For the successful realization of this goal—namely, the assistance in reintegration and resocialization of law offenders into the community through contemporary methods and tools of alternative punishments—the staff of the Probation Service must be qualified. This entails that the selected personnel not only possess the requisite professional training to handle supervised individuals but also continuously undergo various processes and techniques for motivation, professional development, and performance evaluation. Consequently, and due to the scant scientific research in this field in Albania and beyond, our aim is to highlight the most crucial element of such an institution—the personnel, specifically, the so-called probation service specialists (PSS).We have examined whether the management of PSS in Albania adheres to international standards, or the so-called Tokyo Rules, concerning personnel, starting from the selection process, motivation, performance evaluation, and professional development. To achieve this objective, firstly, it was determined whether the Albanian legal framework on the organization and functioning of the Probation Service specifies these international standards, or the Tokyo Rules, regarding personnel. Secondly, it was verified whether these international standards on personnel are applied in the management practices of PSS in Albania. Thirdly, it was ascertained that managing PSS according to international standards guarantees the effective execution of alternative sentences. In this manner, we have demonstrated the role and impact that well-managed personnel have on achieving the purpose and mission of the Probation Service, namely, the rehabilitation and reintegration of the supervised individual.This study, from the perspective of the Tokyo Rules, has first revealed that the legal framework in Albania for managing the personnel of the Probation Service adheres to international standards, or the so-called Tokyo Rules; secondly, that the management in practice of PSS does not occur according to this legal framework and international standards. Furthermore, it has been shown that the management in practice of PSS not according to international standards has not ensured the effective execution of alternative sentences. Thus, we have identified the direct impact that well-managed personnel have on realizing the goal and mission of the Probation Service, i.e., the supervision of alternative sentences and the rehabilitation/reintegration of the supervised person.
Read full abstract