Section 2  Probation / Parole Supervision

  Probation/parole supervision is provided for probationers / parolees (see “Overview” of Part 2, Chapter 1 and Part 4, Chapter 2, Section 1), aiming for their rehabilitation through letting them have normal social lives. Probation officers as well as volunteer probation officers who are nongovernmental volunteers commissioned by the Minister of Justice give them necessary instruction and control to prompt them to observe certain conditions in their normal lives, as well as provide them with necessary guidance and support. Probation/parole conditions, which are the criteria for instruction and control, must be observed so that probationers/parolees could rehabilitate themselves instead of repeating offenses through surely receiving supervision. There are two types of probation/parole conditions: statutory general conditions applicable to everyone and special conditions established on a case-by-case basis.
  Probation/parole supervision is usually carried out cooperatively by a probation officer and a volunteer probation officer for each probationer/parolee. When starting supervision on a probationer/parolee, a probation officer makes an individualized treatment plan providing the objectives and methods, etc. of guidance, supervision and rehabilitation aid, based on an interview with the probationer/parolee and his/her related records. A volunteer probation officer provides guidance and assistance according to this treatment plan, by having contact with the probationer/parolee and their families through interviews and visits. The process of treatment is reported from the volunteer probation officer to the director of the probation office every month, and the probation officer cooperates with the volunteer probation officer to take appropriate measures according to changes in situations, such as having an interview with the probationer/parolee or persons concerned, when necessary. Meanwhile, the “Ordinance for Community-Based Treatment of Offenders and Juvenile Delinquents” (Ministry of Justice Ordinance No. 28 of 2008), which was enacted in response to the Offenders Rehabilitation Act being enforced, provides that probation officers shall give sufficient guidance and advice to volunteer probation officers and maintain close communicate with them to avoid them being overburdened.
  Volunteer probation officers are assigned to any one of 877 probation districts (as of April 1, 2008) across the country and are engaged in rehabilitation services, such as probation/parole supervision and crime prevention activities.
  The Volunteer Probation Officer Act (Act No. 204 of 1950) stipulates that the number of volunteer probation officers should not exceed 52,500, and there were 48,919 officers assigned throughout the country as of January 1, 2008 (Source: The Rehabilitation Bureau, Ministry of Justice).