Wiesbaden (dpa/lhe) – Hessen combines probation assistance and court assistance into a unified social service of the judiciary. A draft law by the state government was passed in the state parliament on Thursday evening with the votes of the black-green coalition and the AfD parliamentary group. Pilot projects have shown positive results, said Justice Minister Roman Poseck (CDU) in Wiesbaden. The ministry has been working on the reform for a long time. The new social service of the judiciary is based at the regional courts.
So far, court assistance has been assigned to the public prosecutor’s office; it essentially takes care of the mediation and monitoring of community work to pay off fines and to close proceedings. Probation assistance from the regional courts can be made available to a convicted criminal if his sentence has been suspended or if the person is under supervision.
Poseck argued that the merger would enable test subjects to be looked after continuously. Competence could be bundled and the exchange between the departments could be promoted.
