Supervision of conditional release

A conditionally released prisoner is placed under supervision if

• the part of the prison sentence not served in prison is longer than one year

• the offence was committed when under 21 years old

• the prisoner so requests

• the prisoner is placed in probationary liberty under supervision before the actual release and committed to pharmacotherapy aimed to prevent new sexual offences

• the risk of a prisoner sentenced for murder, manslaughter, or attempted murder committing a new violent offence is assessed to be high

• the risk of a prisoner, who is serving a prison sentence for a violent or sexual offence and has a prior sentence for a similar offence, committing a new violent or sexual offence is assessed to be high.

The Criminal Sanctions Agency is responsible for the organisation and implementation of the supervision. The supervisor is an official of the Criminal Sanctions Agency who works in a community sanctions office. A private person with appropriate training and work experience may be appointed as an assistant supervisor.

The goal of the supervision is to prevent recidivism by increasing the abilities of the released prisoner to adopt a life without crime. Therefore, the prisoner is involved in the preparation of an individual supervision plan, which aims to support social coping. The plan is coordinated with the sentence plan drawn up in prison and other plans drawn up elsewhere, for instance, in social services. The preparation of the supervision plan is started in good time prior to the release so that the plan can be taken into use at the beginning of the supervision.

The supervision lasts for the probationary period, which can be three years at the most. For justified reasons, the supervisor may propose an earlier termination of the supervision.

The Criminal Sanctions Agency pays reasonable travel expenses related to the supervision appointments. The amount is based on the costs of using public transport.

Obligations of the person placed under supervision

A person subject to supervision is obliged to participate in the preparation of the supervision plan and maintain contact with the supervisor as specified in the plan. In general, contact is more frequent at the beginning of the supervision and, later on, the number of appointments may be reduced according to need.

During the supervision appointments or whenever the supervisor requests, the supervised person is required to give the supervisor necessary contact information as well as information related to the supervised person’s work, residence, education, studies, and financial situation. Other information on the circumstances of the supervised person may also be necessary for the implementation of the supervision. The supervised person has to inform the supervisor of major changes in the person’s circumstances.

The supervised person must comply with the orders issued by the supervisor that are necessary for implementing the supervision.

The supervised person may not be under the influence of alcohol or other intoxicating substances during the supervision appointments. The prohibition to use alcohol applies only to the supervision appointments. If the supervised person has problems with the use of intoxicating substances, it is taken into account in the supervision plan.

At the beginning of the supervision, the supervisor discusses and notifies the supervised person of the consequences of violating the obligations. The possible consequences include an oral or written caution, a written warning, a request to be fetched by the police, or a notification to the prosecutor. In case of a gross violation of the obligations, the court may order 4 to 14 days of the remaining sentence to be enforced.

Content of supervision

The supervision includes regular appointments between the supervisor and the supervised person. The purpose of the appointments is to improve the abilities of the supervised person's ability to assume responsibility and to support the person to act in a manner acceptable to society. The appointments with the supervisor are confidential.

The supervision appointments focus especially on factors that influence criminal behaviour and, at the same time, assist the supervised person in contact with, for instance, authorities or other parties that support the arrangement of the person’s life situation. The supervisor directs the supervised person to different support measures and services if they together consider it necessary. Such services may include, among others, social, substance use, health care, dept counselling, or other similar services.

The supervision plan is drawn up with the person ordered to supervision already before the release. The supervision plan provides the supervised person information on the regulations and obligations concerning the supervision period. At this point, it is already possible to determine which issues need particular attention during the supervision. The risks, needs, and resources of the supervised person in the current life situation are assessed at the beginning of the supervision. Based on the assessment, the supervisor and the supervised person draw up an individual plan, which includes the goals of the supervision period and the means to reach the goals. In accordance with the plan, the appointments address different themes, for example, through discussions, tasks, and exercises. Participation in various groups and courses is also possible during the supervision period. The supervision supports the supervised person’s own efforts to change. The supervision may also include co-operation both with the people closest to the supervised person and with other authorities.