Eight new offices for enforcing alternative sanctions in Serbia

System for the enforcement of criminal sanctions, and thus the system for the enforcement of alternative sanctions, is one of the most crucial links of the judicial system”, said Nikola Selakovic, the Minister of Justice and Public Administration during the signing of the Memorandum of Cooperation concerning the enforcement of alternative sanctions between the mayors and representatives of the cities of Pancevo, Smederevo, Pozarevac, Leskovac, Sremska Mitrovica, Cacak, Zrenjanin and Uzice.

Selakovic stated that the system for the enforcement of criminal sanctions was a very important task to be made within the judicial reform which was defined by the new Strategy adopted by the National Assembly, including the Draft National Strategy for the Enforcement of Criminal Sanctions that was presented to the public last month.  

Selakovic stressed that promoting a system of alternative sanctions has multiple advantages for those serving the sentences and the overall society.

“Alternative sanctions will allow for the negative effects of the closing to be avoided, but also contribute to the society by allowing the convicts to return to the society. This would make considerable savings to the State Budget”, said Selakovic.

He added that the adoption and the implementation of the Bill on the Misdemeanours would create conditions for a wider implementation of alternative sanctions since the misdemeanour courts would be able to impose labour sentences of public interest which would further reduce the prison capacities and the costs.  

Comparing the experiences of other countries in their enforcements of alternative sanctions, Minister Selakovic said that the European trend showed a higher number of alternative sanctions being imposed than that of prison sentences. He used Great Britain as an example where 86,000 people had been sentenced to prison and over 230,000 people had had alternative sanctions imposed.

“There are currently seven offices for the enforcement of alternative sanctions, but the today’s signing of the Memorandum of Cooperation will provide us with eight more offices which will help spread the system of alternative sanctions in Serbia”, concluded Minister Selakovic.