Probation and parole officers who have been following industrial action for the past two months are leaving many offenders unsupervised, an association said on Wednesday.
In a statement, the Maltese Association of Social Workers (MASW) expressed solidarity with probation and parole officers, who, it said, have been following union directives since January 19. The directives were given in protest at their "excessive caseloads".
“Due to this Industrial Action, a large number of offenders are not being supervised.
"This is causing a lack of social stability thus increasing the risk of the frequency of crime and putting the public at risk," the statement said.
MASW urged the authorities to provide these officers with better conditions, so that they could enhance the "vital service" they were providing.
It is not clear how many officers are following the directives and how many offenders are left without a probation or parole officer.
Both probation and parole officers are court officials appointed to supervise offenders with a probation period or inmates who are provisionally released on parole.
A probation order can last for between one and three years.
Probation officers are also tasked with drafting reports for those requesting parole. They enforce the conditions of court orders, conduct offender risk assessments and advise the courts, and manage and enforce community orders for the offenders during and after their sentence.
It's not the first time probation officers have reported being overworked. Back in 2016, it was reported that a team of 24 probation officers were following some 1,000 offenders, leaving each probation officer with a caseload of around 60.
Back in 2018, a similar industrial action for the same issue was issued.
UĦM director Mario Sacco told Times of Malta how while the collective agreement provides a clause that each officer should be assigned a maximum of 55 cases, there are no agreements or terms on what happens when an officer takes on more cases.
Under the industrial directive, officers were instructed to not engage in any form of communication with clients or take on new clients.
Sacco said discussions between members, the Home Affairs permanent secretary and UĦM have been ongoing for the past few months, and the last meeting took place two weeks ago.
“During that meeting, we proposed a scheme for officers who want to take up more than 55 cases to do so on a pro-rata basis,” he said, adding that the union is waiting to hear back from the government.
Former PN MP and lawyer Jason Azzopardi highlighted the strike back in February, when he shared an email showing the directives.
Speaking to Times of Malta Azzopardi said the strike is not only causing delays in courtrooms but is also having a negative social impact.
"In many cases, the probation officer is the first person to give these people a sense of discipline," he said.
"These officers are the ones who make sure offenders receive the treatment they need. What is happening now is that those people who have been on probation for the past two years and have been on a positive road to recovery are now left with no communication from their probation officer, and might stray back to their bad habits."
On Wednesday, Azzopardi took to Facebook once more to re-highlight the issue.
“Do you know that, since January, probation officers have been on industrial action because this government decided to spend €7 million on a film festival but is being miserly with probation officers.
“Do you know there are people who are meant to start treatment orders and are still without them.
“Do you know there are domestic violence victims who are hoping their aggressors start their treatment? So far, I am the only lawyer who has written about this issue,” he said.