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Scarica il documento - Dipartimento per la Giustizia Minorile

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Dossier<br />

if the minor demonstrates acceptable behaviour during this two-year <strong>per</strong>iod, then the<br />

custodial sentence is suspended.<br />

The Procedure for Assigning Cases and Providing Probation Services in Berlin<br />

Cases are assigned in the following manner. the court assigns the case to a probation<br />

officer, taking the minor’s preference in regards to the officer’s gender into consideration.<br />

the parents or legal guardian(s) are also informed of the probation programme are<br />

encouraged to contact the probation officer assigned to the case. if the case involves<br />

a minor of foreign origin, then p<strong>la</strong>n is presented in his/her native <strong>la</strong>nguage. in most<br />

cases a probation officer is assigned to the case two or three weeks after sentencing,<br />

after which the minor is invited to an initial meeting that is to take p<strong>la</strong>ce within 14 days.<br />

Further invitations are sent to the minor in case he/she does not show. a fa<strong>il</strong>ure to show<br />

after the third invitation results in a notification being sent to the court. the aims of the<br />

initial meeting are to: exp<strong>la</strong>in the legis<strong>la</strong>tive framework, privacy regu<strong>la</strong>tions, obligations,<br />

sanctions, and other relevant information. successive meetings focus on individual work<br />

being done involving the probation officer and the minor. this consists of the creation of<br />

a work p<strong>la</strong>n, evaluation of the minor’s past, evaluation of risk and protective factors, the<br />

minor’s motivation and <strong>per</strong>sonal objectives, and finally the eventual involvement of other<br />

support systems or <strong>per</strong>sonnel.<br />

Meetings need to be held frequently during the initial <strong>per</strong>iod of probation (at least<br />

once every 14 days). the frequency of these meetings depends on the minor’s progress, but<br />

the time between meetings must not exceed four weeks. during this <strong>per</strong>iod the probation<br />

officers makes regu<strong>la</strong>r checks to ensure that the recommendations and orders are respected;<br />

the probation officer is obliged to report any necessary changes or suspensions to the<br />

court. the officer must submit a report to the court, including information on the on the<br />

minor’s behaviour, six months after the issuing of the sentence with a subsequent report<br />

due every six months thereafter. supplementary reports must be submitted if the minor<br />

comments a new offence, fa<strong>il</strong>s to show for a scheduled meeting with the probation officer<br />

or does not respect the court’s recommendations and orders. the final report has to be sent<br />

to the court four months after the conclusion of the probation <strong>per</strong>iod. the report contents<br />

must include information about the minor’s everyday life, the situation at school, with his/<br />

her fam<strong>il</strong>y, friends, and re<strong>la</strong>tionships, and the impact of the court’s recommendations and<br />

orders.<br />

the probation officer must report any new offending to the court. the officer must<br />

also inform the court about the minor’s lifestyle and provide socio-educational suggestions<br />

for next steps. if the minor demonstrates exceptional behaviour wh<strong>il</strong>e on probation, then<br />

the officer may request that the probation <strong>per</strong>iod end early. this would consist of a final<br />

meeting between the minor and the probation officer during which there is an attempt to<br />

reflect upon and evaluate the work done together. if the minor st<strong>il</strong>l needs assistance, then<br />

the probation officer can, with the minor’s consent, request post-probation assistance for<br />

the minor.<br />

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