According to the Ministry of Justice, one client of the State Probation Service costs the state an average of €4.15 per day. This is approximately 15 times less than the cost of keeping a person in places of deprivation of liberty, which costs the budget €62.08 per day. The difference reflects not only the cost of various punitive measures but also the role of probation in the justice system. Its task is to monitor the execution of court-imposed measures, help the individual return to normal life after committing an offense, and reduce the risk of reoffending. Last year, the State Probation Service handled nearly 15,000 cases. Of these, 7,931 concerned supervision, while another 4,347 were related to the execution of community service sentences. Community service remains one of the most in-demand measures. Last year, participants worked over 293,000 hours, and the benefit from the completed work was estimated by the Ministry of Justice at approximately €1.26 million. Another indicator concerns electronic monitoring. According to the ministry, about 80% of people assigned such a measure find employment within the first month. This is important not only for the participants of the program themselves. Employment is considered one of the factors that helps a person return to normal life more quickly and reduces the likelihood of reoffending. The State Probation Service also pays attention to working with minors. For this purpose, 107 specialists have been trained, and five units in Riga, Liepaja, and Daugavpils specialize specifically in working with children and youth. At the same time, the workload on employees continues to grow. Since the beginning of 2024, the average workload ratio of the service has increased from 0.77 to 0.98, primarily due to the increase in the number of cases related to supervision. Currently, there are also 121 volunteers working in the probation system. They participate in mentoring, reconciliation, and social support programs, as well as assist service specialists in collaboration with non-governmental organizations. At the same time, the State Probation Service is reviewing its internal processes. A total of 169 measures have already been identified to reduce administrative burdens — from simplifying paperwork to implementing a new electronic monitoring system and developing the e-justice platform e-lieta. It is expected that this will allow specialists to devote more time to direct work with people. The Ministry of Justice also reported that in 2028, Riga will host the World Congress on Probation Issues. The forum is expected to gather specialists from different countries and become a platform for exchanging experiences in the field of resocialization and the execution of penalties.
