Introduction

After partition of the sub-continent, Pakistan re enforced the criminal justice system of the
British government which was related to the probation law. In 1927 the law relates to the release of
prisoner on parole was handed over to the provincial government which is called Reclamation and
Probation Department (RPD).first the RPD was imposed by the province of Punjab and the rest of the
country followed in 1957.the law relates to the good conduct of prisoner, good conduct prisoner
Probational release act 1926 was implemented. Its effectiveness is provided to the convicted prisoner’s
who’s having good conduct for the release on the probation but its scope was limited to the prisoner
with short term sentences. The British government wants to make separate legislation for probation in
1931. For this purpose they bill was made and the said bill was send to all the provinces for comment
but unfortunately was not made to become because of the independence movement was going in the
country.

The government of Pakistan passed namely probation of offender ordinance 1960 which was
almost the same to the probation bill 1931. Its main purpose was to establish the probation become a
power of the government and enable the probation officer for the offenders.

In the recent days a development was made by government of Pakistan which introduced the
juvenile justice system ordinance 2000, in respect of international obligation of united nation
convention on the right of child.

In the present system of criminal justice system of Pakistan alternative methods of

imprisonment in the legal system e.g. pre-arrest bail during the trail stage, at the sentence stage fine
and probation and during trail stage release on parole. The people mostly known with term of bail and
that are mostly followed in the court procedure. While in the case of probation and parole are not
followed, this deprived the people from their basic fundamental rights. In the recent days the revengeful
punishment concept is almost finished and the place is taken by the friendly human being society and
justice. And which result to the reduction of

In Pakistan the majority of the prisons are overcrowded, which contributes to the emerging
issues of poor health and hygiene, high risk behavior (e.g. suicide, unprotected and forced sexual
contact, drug Misuse), and poor prison management leading to torture, riots and corruption. The lack of
proper Rehabilitation services also puts prisoners at a high risk of reoffending, particularly criminalizing
first time offenders or those who have committed minor offences. According to the Human Rights 5
Commission of Pakistani1, about 64% of the total prison population is remand prisoners waiting their
court decision. An effective and efficient probation and parole system can play a vital role in community
rehabilitation of offenders and reducing the prison population, which in turn contributes to better
prison management and the overall improvement of prison conditions. To assess and promote the non-
custodial measures of probation and parole, Penal Reform International conducted this review to study
the present probation and parole system in Pakistan and formulate recommendations for its

1
Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (2010) The State of Human Rights 2010

Electronic copy available at: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2256316

improvement. A questionnaire was used to gather information, supported by focus group discussions
and key personnel interviews with stakeholders (Provincial Directors of Reclamation and Probation,
probation and parole officers, prison officials, legal counsel, representatives of civil
society/NGOs/INGOs), and desk reviews of the relevant reports and literature. The following findings
were derived as an outcome of this review.

Structure and functioning of Probation and Parole system in Pakistan

As an alternative to imprisonment, release of prisoners on probation and parole is managed by

Provincial Directorates of Reclamation and Probation working as departments attached to the Provincial
Home Departments in Punjab, Sindh, Baluchistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Each Provincial Directorate
is headed by a Director of Reclamation and Probation (R&P) supported by Deputy Directors and
Assistant Directors, probation and parole officers, office superintendents and other administrative and
support staff. The overall mandate of the Directorates of Reclamation and Probation include: to 'kill the
crime not the criminal'; to reduce overcrowding in prisons; to cut down government expenditure on
prisons; and to rehabilitate and re-integrate offenders as law-abiding citizens. However, a lack of
political will, inadequate human/skilled resources and weak infrastructure are hindering their potential
to play an effective role in the criminal justice system of Pakistan. Provincial differences do exist in the
distribution and designation of staff, however overall functioning is identical and governed by the legal
instruments of:
 Probation of Offenders Ordinance (XLV of 1960); and the West Pakistan Probation of Offenders
Rules, 1961
 The Good Conduct Prisoners' Probational Release Act, 1926; and the Good Conduct Prisoners'
Probational Rules, 1927
 Juvenile Justice System Ordinance 2000 and its Rules for Implementation

Definitions, procedures

Parole and probation are procedures for release of convicted offenders or adjudicated
delinquents on a conditional basis in order to assist them in pursuing a non-criminal life, with the
proviso that they may be committed or returned to a correctional institution if their behavior after
release fails to meet standards of the releasing authority. If granted by an administrative agency to
someone who already has served part of a term of confinement this release is usually called parole in
the United States and license in Britain. If granted by a court as an alternative to 6 incarcerations this
release is generally called probation2ii . These provisions were primarily promulgated for the benefit of
“first time” and offenders seen as able to reform who are capable of leading a useful and productive life
so as to minimize their chances of becoming hardened criminals due to the effects of imprisonment.

Probation

Under the Probation of Offenders Ordinance 1960, probation is the suspension of the Imposition of
a sentence of imprisonment or the postponement of final judgment in a court case. It is a judicial
warning given to an offender for non-serious offences for the opportunity to reform him/her and
commit no more offences, as well as be subject to additional conditions which may be imposed by the
court and under the supervision and guidance of a probation officer. The Probation of Offenders

2
International encyclopedia of Social Sciences

Electronic copy available at: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2256316

Ordinance 1960 now contains 15 sections (after omission of 7 two of its sections). According to section 3,
the following courts are empowered to exercise the power under the said ordinance:
 High Court
 Court of Session
 Judicial Magistrate
 Any other magistrate specially empowered.

The Ordinance empowers the above-mentioned courts to place eligible offenders either on
conditional discharge or probation. According to the Ordinance, the Trial Court may, keeping in view the
age, character, health & background of the offender, and the nature & circumstances leading to the
offence, discharge any offender after due admonishment, who has committed an offence punishable
with imprisonment not more than two years. During the focus group discussion with R&P staff it was
revealed that section 4 is very rarely or not at all exercised in courts and most of the time it is under
section 5 of the ordinance that probation orders are issued. This is a grey area that needs to be further
Explored and taken up with the judiciary to examine exactly the reasons behind this and hence to
improve its applicability in the court settings.

Once released on probation, the concerned probation officer is to supervise, monitor and
facilitate rehabilitation of the offender in the community. In practice however, a probation officer's role
is ineffective in the rehabilitation of offenders due to an inadequate institutional and personal capacity.
The probation officer has been assigned an important role in the whole process of preparing and
submitting the “social investigation report” (SIR) to the court. On the directive of the court, a probation
officer prepares a SIR that includes information about an offender's character, background, commission
and nature of offence, home surroundings and other circumstances. In practice, the court put a majority
of the cases directly on probation without a formal SIR. Such practices on the part of the court need
further exploration as this might be either due to the small number of probation officers, the lack of
confidence the court has regarding the professional abilities and skills of probation officers or the time it
takes to provide one, as in a large number of the cases the courts release people on probation upon
confession without asking probation officer for SIR. Whatever the case may be, the court has the powers
to decide whether to put an offender on probation or to decide against it. SIRs are prepared to assist the
courts to arrive at an appropriate decision.

The duties and functions of the probation officer after release of the offender on probation are
mentioned in section 13 of the Probation of Offenders Ordinance 1960 and its Rule 10. Major duties and
functions of a probation officer include:
 Explaining to every probationer placed under his charge, the terms and conditions of his/her
probation order, and if deemed necessary, by warnings, endeavors to ensure their observance
of the order.
 Meeting every probationer under his/her charge at least once a fortnight in the first two months
of his/her probation, and thereafter, subject to the provisions of the officer in charge, keep in
close contact with the probationer, meet him/her frequently, make enquiries into his/her
conduct, mode of life and environments, and wherever practicable, visit his/her home from time
to time.
 If any probationer under his/her charge be out of employment, Endeavour to find suitable
employment for him/her and assist, befriend, advise and strive to improve his/her conduct and
general conditions of living.

3
  Encourage every probationer under his/her supervision to make use of any recognized agency,
statutory or voluntary, which might contribute towards his/her welfare and general well-being,
and to take advantage of the social, recreational and educational facilities which such agencies
might provide.
 Where a probationer under his/her supervision, who has executed a bond, with sureties under
section 5, is found to have committed any breach of the terms of his/her bond, or to have
otherwise misconduct him/herself, to bring such breach or misconduct to the notice of his/her
sureties.
 Maintain the books and registers and submit reports prescribed under these rules.
 Subject to the provisions of these rules; carry out the instructions of the court in regard to any
probationer placed by the Court under his/her supervision.

Under the Probation of Offenders Rules 1961, each district has a Case Committee comprising of the
district Magistrate as chairman, with all first class Magistrates in the district and the district probation
officer as members. The committee functions as an advisory body on the casework within its area of
jurisdiction; it is meant to receive and consider verbal or written reports presented by probation officers
and to make recommendations concerning the status of probationers. These committees are supposed
to meet once every three months, however in practice, it is often less or nonexistent. The Case
Committees' role has been taken to a greater extent by Criminal Justice Coordination Committees (CJCC)
mandated under the Police Order 2002. Monthly meetings of CJCCs are held comprising of the District
and Session Judge as chairperson, the Superintendent of Police as Secretary, with other members
including a District police officer, District Prosecutor, Superintendent (governor) of the Prison, and
probation officer of the district. The CJCC provides a more effective and robust forum to discuss the
issues and progress related to probation. However it has been observed that in many districts the
participation of probation officers in these meetings is symbolic or sometimes absent. The
comparatively lower service grade and inadequate professional capacity of probation officer often puts
them at a disadvantage to adequately play their due role. Individual differences do exist in a few cases
where the probation officers are more proactive in these CJCC meetings.

Scope of the Probation of Offenders Ordinance 1960

The Pakistan Probation of Offender Ordinance 1960 is limited in its scope as:
 Probation is not extended to all types of offences. The personal characteristic, the needs of the
offender and the type of offence is taken into consideration while issuing a court probation
order thus depriving the first time offenders in heinous crimes to benefit from probation.
Instead, a comprehensive risk assessment should be given prime importance while deciding the
cases fit for probation and not purely the nature of an offence.
 The probation law is applicable to both male and female offenders; however the law is more
lenient towards female offenders. In addition to the offences punishable by death or life
imprisonment, the probation law is not applicable to male offenders convicted of offences of
heinous nature as described in the Pakistan Penal Code of3 1860 under the following sections :

3
Observation shared by Dr Par
veen Azam Khan, president Dost Welfare Foundation

4
 In contrast, female offenders are eligible for a probation order in all offences except offences
punishable by the death penalty. According to section 11 of the Juvenile Justice System Ordinance:

Release on probation for children under the Juvenile Justice System Ordinance, 2000.

Child offenders who at the time of commission of an offence has not attained the age of
eighteen years can benefit from the above provision. It is encouraging that releases on probation have
increased in recent years particularly in cases of child offenders; however practice shows in most of the
cases release orders are issued in cases where the state is the party e.g narcotics offences. Cases in
which a private party is a victim, the courts exercise considerable restraint to the extent that even in
appropriate cases the courts do not pass orders for release on probation due to the apprehension that
the victim may take the law into its own hands and resort to revenge4 outside the court . The overriding
influences of special laws like the Anti-terrorism Act further limit the practice of non-custodial
sentencing.

Parole

Parole refers to the conditional release of prisoners or offenders in certain cases before the
completion of the term of imprisonment to which they have been sentenced. With parole the prisoners
serve the last portion of their sentence in the community after completing a mandatory period of
substantive sentence in prison as required under the good conduct Prisoner's Probational release Act,
1926 and Rules 1927.

Under these rules, the Executive (Home Secretary) of the province is empowered to release
certain offenders on parole. When the provincial government is satisfied that a prisoner's track record
or good conduct behind bars suggests that he or she would likely abstain from crime and would lead a
“useful and industrious life” in the community, it may grant a license of release on the condition that the
prisoner remains under the supervision of a parole officer or a “secular institution or of a person or
society professing the same religion as the prisoner”.

The parolees, under the supervision of a parole officer, are employed on fixed wages and under
specific terms and conditions with the approved employers of the respective provincial R&P
Directorates. Any person or institution can apply to be a potential employer to the R&P Director who,
after proper scrutiny and on the recommendations of the relevant district administration where the
potential employer belong to, decides whether to approve the employer or reject the application if it
does not fulfill the selection criteria. The required standards for the employer include: to be resident of
the same province, being of a good repute, not involved in any illegal trade/activities, being able to
provide accommodation, clothes, food and wages to the parolee. The monthly wages must be minimum
1000 Pak Rupees and can be more depending upon the skills of the parolee. The employer deposits the
wages in a Bank Account in the name of the relevant parole officer and at the end of the total parole
period the parolee receives the total deposited amount.

4
R&P Directorate PK: Sept 2011 data

5
 The parolee can also get part of the monthly wages for his personal or family use on the
approval of the relevant parole officer. Prisoners may be selected for parole on an application by
themselves or their family members; or on the recommendation of the Superintendent (governor) of
the jail. The Assistant Director and parole officer are also authorized to visit the jails to select suitable
prisoners for release on parole. The evidence shows these visits are not frequently carried out due to a
low number of parole officers and weak coordination between prison management and the parole
officers. In most of the districts, the probation officers have been assigned additional duties of a parole
officer to cover the issue of under-staffing.

Other responsibilities and functions of the parole officer after the release of prisoners on parole
include supervision and rehabilitation of offenders, periodic visits to parolees, collecting wages and
submitting reports to his/her supervising officer (for example to the Assistant Director R&P about a
parolees work performance) and to process any complaints.

In pursuance of the recommendation made by the National Judicial Policy Making Committee
(NJPMC) in June 2009, all the four provinces have established Parole Committees comprising the
Additional Secretary Home (chairman), Director R&P, District Police officer of the concerned district,
Additional Inspector General Prison, Superintendent of the concerned prison, Director Prosecution,
Representative of civil society organization, prominent academic and any other member co-opted by the
chairman. The arrangement of the committee may differ in minor ways in some of the provinces
keeping in view their own available human resources. The role of the committee is advisory and on its
recommendations the Home Secretary approves the cases for parole. This is certainly a positive
development in strengthening the parole system by involving members from a range of relevant
agencies.

Scope of parole system:

The parole system is primarily based on The Good Conduct Prisoners' Probational Release Act,
1926 and its Rules, 1927; and executive orders for implementation. Some of the provisions/executive
orders limit its scope and need addressing, for example:

Parolees must be employed a minimum of 45 miles away from their immediate families and can
meet their families by taking casual leave with the approval of the relevant parole officer. The parolee
becomes eligible for casual leave after completion of the first six months of the parole period. This is a
clear violation of the right to family life and Superintendent (governor) of the jail. The Assistant Director
and parole officer are also authorized to visit the jails to select suitable prisoners for release on parole.
The evidence shows these visits are not frequently carried out due to a low number of parole officers
and weak coordination between prison management and the parole officers. In most of the districts, the
probation officers have been assigned additional duties of a parole officer to cover the issue of under-
staffing. Other responsibilities and functions of the parole officer after the release of prisoners on parole
include supervision and rehabilitation of offenders, periodic visits to parolees, collecting wages and
submitting reports to his/her supervising officer (for example to the Assistant Director R&P about a
parolees work performance) and to process any complaints.

6
 In pursuance of the recommendation made by the National Judicial Policy Making Committee
(NJPMC) in June 2009, all the four provinces have established Parole Committees comprising the
Additional Secretary Home (chairman), Director R&P, District Police officer of the concerned district,
Additional Inspector General Prison, Superintendent of the concerned prison, Director Prosecution,
Representative of civil society organization, prominent academic and any other member co-opted by the
chairman. The arrangement of the committee may differ in minor ways in some of the provinces
keeping in view their own available human resources. The role of the committee is advisory and on its
recommendations the Home Secretary approves the cases for parole. This is certainly a positive
development in strengthening the parole system by involving members from a range of relevant
agencies.

Difference between probation and parole

Probation and parole both serve the purpose of community rehabilitation and reintegration of
offenders. The main structural and procedural differences between the two non-custodial sanctions are:
 Probation is given by the judiciary while parole is authorized by the Executives;
 Probation refers to suspending the sentence or postponement of decision while parole is given
in the last portion of the sentence after a prisoner's has completed mandatory imprisonment;
and
 The judiciary is responsible for probation revocation while parole revocation is made by the
Executive.

Province-wise strength of probation and parole officers

The below table shows the existing number of probation and parole officers in all provinces:
In Sindh, 15 probation officer and 13 parole officers have been recently recruited and will resume their
duties by the end of March 2012. In KPK, the induction of 7 female probation officers is very
encouraging and they are optimistic this will increase the number of female offenders released on
probation. According to Director R&P Baluchistan, 9 further posts of probation and parole officers are
sanctioned by the government and would be advertised in the first quarter of this year (2012). The
recent activism on the part of provincial governments by increasing the human resource springs stem
from the recommendations made by the National Judicial Policymaking Committee in June 2009. The
number of staff is still not up to the required capacity; however these developments can be termed
revolutionary in the history of R&P department in Pakistan. The DRP is currently dealing with the issue
of understaffing by giving additional charge to probation and parole officer on the need felt basis. There
is a dire need to involve mentors and volunteers under the guidance and supervision of probation and
parole officers to improve service delivery. Students from Universities can also be engaged for
completion of their study field work with DRP that would contribute addressing staffing issue and would
bring the rich knowledge base to the service e.g. students from the fields of social work, sociology,
psychology who will have studied criminology as part of their curriculum.

7
Number of probationers and parolees

In the province of Sindh, 1000 probationers were under the supervision of probation officer
including 50 juveniles, while 225 prisoners were released on parole. In KPK the total numbers of
probationers were 1789 including 1697 male, 33 females and 59 juveniles; prisoners released oniii
parole was 14 .In Punjab province there were 22000 offenders including 243 women and 247 juveniles
released on probationiv while 150 prisoners were released on parole . In the province of Baluchistan, 25
offenders were released on probation including 5 juveniles; 7v prisoners released on parole.

Analysis of probation and parole service in Pakistan

In light of the international framework, the capacity and key functions of probation and parole
services in Pakistan can be summarized as follows:

 Probation is the supervision of a suspended sentence or postponed final judgment of the court
which does not require deprivation of liberty and where the offender is sent back to community
for a period of not less than one and not more than three years. The probation officer on the
directives of the court prepares a SIR to assist the court in reaching a decision regarding whether
or not the offender is released on probation. In the context of parole, it is the early conditional
release of a good conduct prisoner in the last part of his/her imprisonment under the
supervision of a parole officer.

 The probation and parole officers are mandated by law to visit prisons and assist prison
management in identification of offenders who seem eligible for probation or parole and to
conduct assessment interviews with them. Under the prevalent law no other work is carried out
by probation and parole officers to assist prisoners inside the penitentiary.

 The probation system becomes active once a trial begins. It has no assigned role under the law
at the pre-trial stage of criminal proceedings to provide or monitor alternatives to pre-trial
detention or offer mediation; with the exception of the Juvenile Justice System Ordinance 2000
where the probation officer has some role to play at the police station level. It is stated that at
the time of arrest the officer in charge of the police station in which the child is detained shall,
as soon as may be, inform (a) the guardian of the child, and (b) the concerned Probation Officer
to enable him to obtain such information about the child and other material circumstances
which may be of assistance to the juvenile court for making inquiry. In practice there are no
such precedents where police have contacted probation officers at the time of arrest of a
juvenile. Evidence shows that most of the police are even unaware of the very existence of
probation officers.

5
R&P Directorate Baluchistan: Dec 2011 data

8
  Similarly, the Reclamation and Probation Department has no assigned role in primary
prevention of crimes; for example working with groups or individuals at high risk of committing
an offence for the first time. Their work in preventing crimes starts during the community
rehabilitation of offenders released on probation or parole in order to minimise the chances of
recidivism. The community rehabilitation of offenders in Pakistan is almost non-existent. The
R&P department lacks the capacity in terms of skilled human resource and logistics to meet the
requirements for the effective community reintegration of offenders. At present the basic
facilities of phone and fax are also not available in every district. In some places there is no
proper office. Very recently provincial government KPK sanctioned official transportation for
probation and parole staff which is yet to be provided. Other provincial governments, except
Punjab, have also taken steps for the provision of transport.

 There are no provisions given in the existing probation and parole legislations to work with the
victims of crime, enforcing fines or to compensate the victims of crime thus limiting its scope in
addressing the needs of the victim. However, it will be too early to add the component of
restorative justice to the role of probation or parole departments as the system is going through
a rapid transition stage at the moment.

 The Reclamation and Probation departments lack a systemic training programme for their staff.
On initial induction staff usually receives short term training at the National Institute for Prison
Administration (NAPA) Lahore that is primarily responsible for training prison personnel.
Capacity building of the staff is the most important area that needs immediate attention.

suggestions and recommendations

 Strong physical presence and up-to-date means of communication are the basic requirements
for any institution mandated for multi-agency and community rehabilitation work. As a follow
up action to the recommendations made by the National Judicial Policymaking Committee, the
government of Baluchistan has taken a step forward in constructing a new R&P Directorate
building that is in the final stages of completion. Such actions need to be replicated in the rest of
provinces, particularly in the province of Sindh.

 As one of the outcomes of the “post crises need assessment KPK and federally administered
tribal areas, Sep 2010”, the KPK government has allocated funds to establish a Directorate of
Human Rights at the district level including office accommodation for district probation/parole
officers, Public6 Prosecutor and public pleaders. This will resolve the current infrastructure
issues in the districts and will contribute in strengthening the probation services in KPK. In the
rest of the three provinces the infrastructure for R&P at district level needs immediate attention
of the authorities.

6
R&P Directorate Baluchistan: Dec 2011 data

9
 At present, no transportation facilities are provided to probation and parole staff to carry out
their field work. The probationers as part of their probation order attend the offices of their
assigned officers. Limited money is allocated for transportation purposes and when a
community visit is deemed necessary, the probation officers use public transport which in cases
of remote areas from district headquarters often results in de-motivation of the probation
officers due to dismal public transport facilities which again is subject to availability at a
particular time of the day. The provincial government KPK has taken a positive step and
sanctioned twenty four 800cc cars and a motorbike to improve the mobility of probation/parole
staff to the far-flung areas. Such steps have also been taken by the respective provincial
directorates of other provinces but needs approval of the concerned authorities. It is highly
recommended that civil society organizations through effective advocacy and media campaigns
influence the decision makers to prioritize provision of office accommodation and equipment
(telephone, fax, computer printers) to make the probation and parole officers accountable and
able to play their due role in the rehabilitation and community reintegration of offenders.

 Having up to date infrastructure and equipment is important but also needs skilled and
knowledgeable R&P staff to ensure its effectiveness. Investment in human capital is necessary in
order to yield the desired results. At present no regular trainings are held for R&P personnel. It
is recommended that chapters on probation and parole system should be added to the training
curriculum of judicial academy, police training academies and to update the syllabus of the
National Academy for Prison Administration. Multi-agency focused trainings are required to
empower the key players in criminal justice system to offer their services in a more holistic and
integrated manner. This will also help to bridge the communication gap between the judiciary,
police, and probation and prison departments. The capacity building component can best be
achieved through involvement of civil society organization to design public private partnerships.
Such interventions will pave the way for more sustainable system change. Sensitisation trainings
are also required for the bar association as most of the legal community is not aware of how the
probation system works.

 Exposures visits and exchange programs should be arranged at regional and international level
for R&P management and staff to study the successful non-custodial models in practice and to
learn from each other's field experiences. Civil society organizations in Pakistan with financial
and technical support of the international community should come forward to design such
projects that target attitudinal change through improving skills and knowledge-base.

 The District Criminal Justice Coordination Committees provide a more effective forum for joint
working. Currently with the exception of few districts, in the majority of the districts the
representation of probation officers in these coordination meetings is not very effective or
absent all together. The provincial R&P Directors need to specifically focus to make the role of
their staff more visible and essential at such important forum.

 Releases of prisoners on parole are comparatively lower than releases of offenders on

probation. Obvious reasons include the low number and less exposure of parole staff to prison
settings. The R&P Directorates should make monthly visits of parole officers compulsory in their
respective yearly activity planner supported by regular supervision meetings on part of the R&P

10
 senior management. It also puts an obligation on prison management to make best use of
parole services in order to reduce overcrowding in prisons.

 Amendments are required in the current probation of offender ordinance to widen its scope to
include community service as part of community sentencing. At present the law is silent about
any such provisions, particularly in the existing situation of Pakistan where there is no
framework for formal rehabilitation of offenders outside the prison. Evidence suggests that
voluntary work under the supervision of probation officers does help to improve an offender's
self-image and increases his/her acceptability by community members leaving a longer lasting
effect in breaking the crime cycle.

 Additional measures need to be taken to address the issue of overcrowding in prisons. For
example, introducing the use of cautions at the police station to divert the offender in minor
cases from the formal criminal justice system. A caution is a formal warning about future
conduct given by a senior police officer, usually in a police station, after a person has committed
an offence and admitted guilt. It is used as an alternative to a charge and possible prosecution.
Likewise the provision of conditional discharge under section 4 of the Pakistan Probation of
Offender Ordinance 1960 needs to be brought to the immediate attention of the judiciary to
increase releases on conditional discharge.

 Musalihat Anjumans can also play a vital role in this case through victim-offender mediation.

 Implementation of the Juvenile Justice System Ordinance 2000 needs to be improved. Special
Juvenile Courts and panels of lawyers for free legal aid must be constituted and made functional
as a priority. The competent courts during the trial of a first time juvenile offender should
exercise the release on probation as a first option through the active involvement of probation
officers. This will prevent chance offenders from becoming hardened criminals during
incarceration.

 Pilot projects on probation through public-private partnership should be developed in

specialized sectors, for example juveniles in conflict with the law, substance misusers and
women in prisons. For instance, by designing a diversion project for first time juvenile offenders
integrating police, probation, district judiciary, prison, child protection commission, Musalihat
Anjumans (Alternate Dispute Resolution Committees), human rights directorate, social welfare
department and other skill training institutes in the best interest of the offender and victim.

 Similarly pilot projects can be designed for drug dependent persons to be diverted into drug
treatment and rehabilitation facilities under the supervision of a probation officer from the level
of police station and courts. Women prisoners with minor children also require our special
attention and such non-custodial probation-led projects would provide women offenders equal
opportunities to better reintegrate into community not only for their own self but also for their
children and loved ones.

11
 Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR) has strong roots in Pakistani society in the form of jirga,
punchayat. These informal community-based dispute resolution approaches are subject to high
criticism from civil society and human rights institutions for some of their biased decision on
heinous crimes such as honour killing and rape; however it still retains an important place in the
social fabric of Pakistan. In the Local Government Ordinance 2000, ADR is given a formal place in
the form of Musalihat Anjumans (Reconciliation Committee) and each province has constituted
their respective rules for implementation vetted by respective provincial law departments. The
police and the courts can refer cases to Musalihat Anjumans (MA) for ADR. These MA will be
very effective in victim offender mediation if linked with diversion projects.

 In the government hierarchical service structure, probation and parole officers stand as a
universal constant, hired and retired in the same grade most of the time. The R&P department
unlike other government departments lacks proper service structure which manifests itself in
the form of de motivated staff always looking for other job opportunities with good service
structure resulting in loss of skilled manpower. This doesn't mean blocking the way of staff so
they do not join other departments but to make the R&P service equally attractive for others to
join.

 Among the government department, R&P department remains a low priority area when
allocating financial resources. For example the budget for R&P Punjab for the fiscal year 2011-
2012 is approximately Rs. 80 million which should be at least 3 times more keeping in view the
population of the province, the ratio of offences and to establish rehabilitation network for
offenders.

 Data collection and data management is another area that needs to be a focus for effective
service delivery and research purposes. There are no Research and Development units in R&P
Directorates and data is kept in either hand written registers or on Excel-based data sheets
without a proper computer database. Development of an extensive database system will also
help the key criminal justice partners in sharing valuable information about offenders to ensure
public safety and reduce recidivism.

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Conclusion

The recent judicial activism in Pakistan has brought the probation and parole system into the
lime light. The respective provincial governments have taken some encouraging steps in terms of
infrastructure development and recruiting new staff. The coordination among key partners in criminal
justice system has comparatively improved due to regular meetings of CJCCs. The criminal justice system
has realized the importance of integrated working. It is a high time for local civil society organizations
and the international community to come forward and support the Reclamation and Probation
Departments so it can effectively play its due role in the community rehabilitation and reintegration of
persons in conflict with the law

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