Expert Group on Caseload and Workload – Collection of practices
Note:
This questionnaire has been created by the CEP Expert Group on Caseload and Workload and we would like to thank you for taking your time to answer the questions. Please provide your answers by Friday 28 March 2025 to
[email protected].
By answering this questionnaire, you will support the Expert Group on Caseload and Workload in drafting the Guidelines on Caseload and Workload for CEP members.
The answers will be summarized and then used for drafting the Guidelines on Caseload and Workload for CEP members. We also kindly ask your permission to use the original answers provided by you in the appendix of the Guidelines. If you disagree with publishing the original data in the appendix, please inform Ms. Mirka Jakesova at
[email protected]. No private data will be published or shared on the CEP website or with third parties except for the members of the Expert Group.
Questionnaire
Country/Jurisdiction: Estonia
Organisation: Ministry of Justice and Digital Affairs
CEP contact person (for internal purposes only): Mariel Männiste +372 5143171
Which probation services do you provide within your criminal justice system?
Community service, substitution of imprisonment by electronic surveillance, substitution of imprisonment by treatment, probation with subjection of offender to supervision of conduct, release on parole (conditional release), termination of criminal proceedings with obligation, supervision of conduct after service of sentence
Do you have defined caseloads and if yes, how they are defined?
The Probation Act delineates the definition of a probationer.
A probationer is:
1) a convicted offender whom a court has placed under the supervision of a probation supervisor pursuant to the procedure provided by law;
2) a convicted offender whose imprisonment has been substituted by community service or addiction treatment or partially substituted by complex treatment of sex offenders;
3) a person with regard to whom criminal proceedings have been terminated and who has been imposed community service by a prosecutor or court or an obligation to submit to surveillance of compliance with prohibition on consumption of alcohol by an electronic device provided for in subsection 1 of § 75´1 of the Penal Code;
4) a suspect or accused upon whom taking into custody imposed as a preventive measure has been substituted by obligation to submit to electronic surveillance;
5) a suspect, accused or offender upon whom the court has imposed a temporary restraining order with electronic surveillance or a restraining order;
6) an offender whose detention has been substituted by community service or on whom a court has imposed the community service obligation pursuant to § 87 of the Penal Code;
7) a suspect or accused on whom a prosecutor or court has ordered a pre-trial report.
Correspondingly to the act, we have established various legal bases within the detention register. Specific explanations of terms such as community service, electronic monitoring, and behavioral control are elaborated in separate regulations or in the explanatory notes and commentated editions of relevant legislation.
For instance, community service represents work performed for the benefit of society, which is undertaken without monetary compensation. Electronic monitoring refers to compliance with an electronic surveillance device. We have precisely defined the categorization of individuals under respective legal bases, which enables us to collect accurate statistical data and comprehend case management workloads.
Here's a key terms:
Probation supervision – a set of monitoring requirements and obligations assigned to a convicted person, for which the probation officer exercises supervision and provides support;
Electronic Monitoring – a time-limited obligation to restrict the probationer's freedom of movement and/or additional monitoring of substance use obligations;
Community Service – the probationer's obligation to work for the benefit of society for a certain number of hours without receiving payment;
Pre-Sentencing Report – a written analysis prepared at the request of a court or prosecutor, examining the personal characteristics and social situation of a suspect or accused person, including an assessment for selecting an appropriate punishment or intervention measure;
Probation Officer's Opinion – an opinion prepared by the probation officer regarding the potential conditional early release of a prisoner from detention and the obligations to be applied and their duration;
Extraordinary Report – a report submitted to the court or prosecutor in cases of probation condition violations or when modifications are necessary.
Do you have a caseload measuring system, if you please elaborate how it works.
A data collection system belonging to the state information system - the detention register - contains data on prisoners, detainees, arrested individuals, and probationers. A legal decision regarding an individual that comes into force is entered into the data collection. In the data collection, an individual is registered according to a specific legal basis (prisoner, probationer, including conditionally early released, individuals under electronic surveillance).
Based on the legal basis, systematic data can be collected. For instance, we can determine the number of individuals directed to probation on a specific day, categorized by the paragraphs of their legal basis. The data collection allows for both short-term and long-term statistical overview.
In the probation, a limit range for the number of clients has been established, ensuring effective case management for probation officers. The purpose of collecting the aforementioned data is to optimize resource allocation, avoiding overburdening probation officers and ensuring an individual approach when assigning new cases to probationers.
Means and practices you have and use to manage caseload / workload
The detention register, previously outlined, serves as our primary data collection tool. Additionally, we have developed a supplementary management dashboard that displays data without requiring separate queries. This dashboard provides essential insights into our operational metrics.
For instance, when inquired about the previous month's community service data - such as the number of clients added, hours assigned, additional obligations imposed - we can immediately get such information directly from the dashboard. This tool not only simplifies responding to statistical inquiries but, more importantly, serves as an invaluable resource in our daily operations.
Our management dashboards encompass various boards, including: Probation officers' caseload, Community service statistics, Social program participation, Probation department overviews, General probation population, Probation-related events, Client engagement metrics (employment status, educational participation, social program involvement), etc.
The dashboard enables access to both comprehensive and granular information. Furthermore, we have the capability to export data to Excel for additional analysis.