Mengal said that the amendments to the law will now be presented to the PA for approval
LAHORE: For the first time in the history of Punjab, more than 37,000 probationers (accidental criminals) released on probation will have to perform community service.
In this regard, the Punjab Cabinet’s Standing Committee on Legislative Affairs (Committee on Legislative Business) has approved amendments to the Probation of Offenders Ordinance 1960. According to the amendments proposed by the Punjab Home Department, after the new community service model, where probationers will perform services in society, the success of the model will save the Punjab government millions of rupees annually. According to a conservative estimate, the annual expenditure of the government on a prisoner kept in jail is Rs300,000, while on a probationer the government spends only Rs5,000 per year.
When contacted by “Jang”, Provincial Interior Secretary Nurul Amin Mengal said that after the amendments to the Probation Ordinance, officers of the Punjab Probation and Parole Service will also assist court in determining the community service suitable for them according to the profile of the criminals. Mengal said that the amendments to the law will now be presented to the Punjab Assembly for approval. He said that every year in Punjab, orders are made for 40,000 to 50,000 probationers who are on probation for a period of 1 to 3 years. “Probationers are accidental offenders who are convicted by courts for unintentional and accidental crimes but at the same time they release them under the Probation Act. After release as a probationer, a convicted criminal cannot go outside the city limits without the permission of the authorities and has to appear before the probation officer every month. Apart from this, he is put through various stages of training so that he becomes a useful citizen,” he added.
“If a person commits an accidental crime and the court sentences him to 7 years or less or more and releases him on probation for two or three years, then if the person does not reform during this period or is found involved in any other crime, probation is terminated and the original sentence (7 years or less or more) is reinstated, according to the court order and he is sent to jail,” he explained.