… about Sozialer Dienst der Justiz (Probation Service)

The Sozialer Dienst der Justiz (SDJ) is part of the offender support and is also competent for the reintegration of offenders, as well as for other areas which will be explained in the following.

General information on Sozialer Dienst der Justiz (SDJ)

SDJ is also competent for the social reintegration of people who have committed offences. The staff works on an outpatient basis, meaning not within the penal institutions or other stationary institutions.

SDJ has various areas of responsibility. Including:

probation service
supervision of conduct
court assistance agency
victim-offender-mediation
victim support
psychosocial assistance in legal proceedings.

To some extent, the SDJ is organised differently from one federal state to another. 3 key tasks include:

crime prevention
social reintegration and integration of people who have committed crimes
restitution of an offence

SDJ is competent for adults. The youth courts assistance service (a subdivision of the Youth Welfare Office) is responsible for young people who are charged or convicted, according to the Youth Courts Act.

Probation Service

The court assigns probation service to a convicted person. For this purpose, a probation officer is assigned to the convicted person.

The aim and task of the probation service is to provide support to convicted persons so they will not commit another offence. For example, the probation service offers:

consultation,
help,
support,
accompaniment during visits to public authorities,
home visits,
conversations with relatives and
placement.

Probation officers are obliged by law to oversee the court-imposed conditions and directions of the convicted person. They must inform the competent judges if the convicted person has violated the conditions and directions or has committed another offence. The arranged meetings with the probation officer must be strictly adhered to. If the sentenced person shows up as agreed, a report must be made to the court.

There are 2 different ways to receive probation service.

1. The defendant is sentenced to imprisonment on probation. Instead of prison, the convicted person gets the opportunity to "prove themselves” to not commit an offence again. See also 'Probation or a suspended prison sentence'.

2. If the convicted person has spent a certain period in prison, he or she can apply for the penalty to be on probation. This can be requested either after serving half or 2/3 of the penalty of imprisonment. If granted, the person can leave prison and is assigned a probation officer for a certain period of time.

The duration of probation is set by the court. In general, probation is about 2 to 5 years.

If the convicted person has successfully completed his or her probation period, the sentence is served.

The tasks of the probation service are defined in the Youth Courts Act (section 21f) and the German Criminal Code (section 56f). The individual federal states have defined further details in their laws and administrative provisions.

Supervision of Conduct

The supervision of conduct is organised in a similar way to the probation service. Probation officers are in charge as well. Supervision of conduct can be ordered for convicted persons:

with a high risk of recidivism,
that are released from preventive detention,
that have prior charges
if they are released on probation after more than one year of imprisonment.

Supervision of conduct is more intensive than probation service. There is closer care and meetings are more frequent.

Furthermore, there is a supervisory authority in addition to the responsible probation officers, that monitors whether the convicted person complies with his or her conditions and directions. If the conditions and directions are not fulfilled, a further conviction may result in a prison sentence of 3 years. The supervisory authority is organised by the Regional Court (Landgericht) in Magdeburg.

The supervisory authority is regulated by law in sections 68 to 68g of the German Criminal Code.

Supervision of conduct also usually is between 2 and 5 years, but can also be ordered by the court for an unlimited period in exceptional cases.

Court Assistance Agency

The court assistance agency supports the court and the public prosecution office and collects data of the accused or sentenced person, for example:

about the personality of the accused person,
about their life situation,
and about the social environment.

The aim is to contribute to an appropriate decision in criminal proceedings or in the enforcement proceedings.

The court assistance agency also supports the sentenced persons if they want to convert their fine into community service or if they want to make up for the damage caused by the crime, for example by means of a victim-offender-mediation. For this the associations of the non-governmental offender support service in Saxony-Anhalt offer help.

Youth Courts Assistance Service

The youth courts assistance service is responsible for young people aged 14-18 years or young adults up to 21 years who have come into conflict with the law. They or their parents can contact the youth courts assistance service of the respective administrative district or the district-free city.

The youth courts assistance service is carried out by social workers of the youth welfare offices. The youth courts assistance service informs about the criminal proceedings against juveniles and accompanies the young people or young adults to trials at the juvenile court. The social workers of the youth courts assistance service mediate between the court, the public prosecution office, and the juvenile/young adult.

The youth courts assistance service reports to the youth court about the curriculum vitae of the juveniles/young adults concerned, about the social environment, leisure activities, the plans for the future and problems. The youth courts assistance service develops proposals for judicial measures or for the termination of proceedings at the public prosecution office.

The social workers of the youth courts assistance service can make proposals in court. For example, whether the juvenile person is to be considered responsible for the crime, whether the young adult should be sentenced under the Youth Courts Act or under the German Criminal Code (age 18 to 21 years).

The youth courts assistance service also helps with ordered conditions and directions. These can include, for example, participation in social training courses, anger management courses, victim-offender-mediation. The social workers of the youth courts assistance service visit juveniles/young adults in remand detention and in prison and offer their support there.

The legal basis of the youth courts assistance service is the Youth Courts Act.

Victim Support and Assistance to Witnesses

Victim support and assistance to witnesses:

give information,
provide practical help,
provide support in crisis situations,
offer psychosocial long-term consultation,
mediate to specific institutions.

These services are free of charge, confidential and voluntary.

Victim Support

The Soziale Dienst der Justiz (SDJ) offers consultation to people affected by offences. These consultations can also be done at home or in the hospital if requested.

For counselling, it is not mandatory to report an offence to the police in advance.

Assistance to Witnesses

Assistance to witnesses offered by SDJ is aimed at victims of offences who have to testify as witnesses in a judicial hearing. Support is also provided to relatives and others who are close to the affected person.

In some cases, specially set up witness protection rooms are necessary. Witness protection rooms are at the Regional Courts (Landgericht) in Dessau-Roßlau, Magdeburg and Halle, and at the Local Court (Amtsgericht) in Magdeburg.

Psychosocial Assistance in Legal Proceedings

Psychosocial assistance in legal proceedings is an intensive accompaniment and support for particularly vulnerable affected persons. It includes in particular persons who have been victims of violent and sexual offences (children, juveniles and adults) as well as their relatives and support person. Specialised professionals offer this support.

Support is available before, during and after the main hearing. It provides assistance, placement and support. It does not provide legal advice and cannot be understood as long-term therapy.

Psychosocial assistance in legal proceedings must be approved by the court. If the conditions are met, the assistance is approved and is therefore free of charge.

If the conditions are not met, psychosocial assistance in legal proceedings can only be provided at the client's own expense.

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