Chapter 2 Austria - CEP, the European Organisation for Probation

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ATA started in Austria in the year 1985 as a project for juveniles. Because of itssuccess it got a legal base in 1989. With this positive experience as a role model a2 nd pilot project started in 1992 for adults. Again the outcome was veryconvincing. Therefore on first January 2000 it was given a statutory basistogether with other measures of diversion. ATA can be ordered either by thepublic prosecutor (which is almost exclusively the case) or by a court. Thefollowing requirements must be met:- the circumstances of the case must be sufficiently clarified (An admission ofguilt is not necessary. The acceptance of ATA is not a requirement for thepublic prosecutor but for the mediation process. If either the suspect or thevictim does not agree the case is referred back to court.);- sanctions must not be deemed necessary in order to prevent the suspect fromfurther offending or to prevent others from offending;- the offence must be within the jurisdiction of a single judge (applies to mostoffences with a maximum penalty of 5 years);- the suspect‘s guilt must not be deemed grave, and- the offence must not have resulted in the death of a person.Requirements for ATA are similar under juvenile criminal law. The mostsignificant difference to the adult criminal code is that the pubic prosecutor canorder ATA in cases of maximum penalties of up to 10 years and the courts in allcases (no maximum penalty ceiling).4.1.2 Other diversion measuresAs of 1 January 2000, criminal proceedings or sentences can be replaced underthe same conditions as ATA by a fine, by community service, or a probationaryperiod (Probezeit) that is sometimes complemented by a probation order. Theselection of the diversion measure depends on which of these measures best serves theinterests of the victim. In cases in which a conflict between the suspect and the victim wasthe cause of the offence, it will most likely be ATA.Table 3: Activities of probation during the different stages of criminalProcedureSupervision/assistance etc. tooffenders whose cases wereconditionally waivedMediation/victim supportSupervising/organizing etc.community serviceSupervising etc. electronic monitoringSupervising etc. suspended sentenceSupervising etc. the mentally ill orPre-TrialPhaseSee: 4.2xxxxTrial andEnforcement PhaseSee: 4.4PostReleasePhaseSee: 4.4xxx
etarded offenders (in-out patientorders)Supervising etc. conditional sentencexSupervising etc. conditionalxrelease/parolePost-release aftercarexAssisted housing x xVoluntary training program inworkshopsx4.2 Pre-trial phaseNEUSTART implements the following, mainly diversional, measures in Austria:- ATA (for juveniles and adults);- community service orders (for juveniles and adults);- diversion of the case (Rücktritt von der Verfolgung) on the part of theprosecutor or the judge for a probation period if the suspect consents tosupervision by a probation worker and/or to fulfilling specific orders;- temporary suspension of proceedings in case of drug-related offences if thesuspect consents to supervision by a probation worker;- provisional probation.The main feature of these measures is that they can only be imposed by thepublic prosecutor or by a judge. The police cannot apply these measures.NEUSTART therefore only takes action upon order of the public prosecutor or ofa judge but never on behalf of the police.4.2.1 Mediation in penal matters (ATA)ATA is the most important and most frequently used diversion sociallyconstructive measure in Austria. In 1989 a new Juvenile Court Act provided thelegal basis and regulations for ATA involving juveniles. The statutory basis forATA for adults and other diversion measures for adult took effect on 1 January2000 (as for contents see above and under 4.1“General”).Figure 2: The mediation processoffencereport to the policereport to the public prosecutorreferral to ATAassignment to the mediator(s) and case management
Page 1: Chapter 2AustriaChristoph Koss
Page 4 and 5: impact for many years, not only on
Page 6 and 7: - 2001: a major reform of the organ
Page 8 and 9: 1.2.4 One national organization - a
Page 10 and 11: efore the perpetrator had turned 21
Page 12 and 13: successful; it is funded under a co
Page 14 and 15: Figure 1: organisational structure
Page 16 and 17: include a detailed description of s
Page 20 and 21: feedback report to the public prose
Page 22 and 23: 4.2.3.2 Temporary suspension of pro
Page 24: out of 14 agencies of NEUSTART from
Page 27 and 28: funds. The budget of NEUSTART consi
Page 29 and 30: - client statistics including numbe
Page 31 and 32: 7.3 Electronic monitoringJust like
Page 33 and 34: At present NEUSTART gGmbH Baden-Wü
Page 35 and 36: D-70193 StuttgartTel: +49/(0)711/62
Page 38 and 39: Table 2: Diversion (offers by prose

Chapter 2 Austria - CEP, the European Organisation for Probation

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