The Ministry of Justice's review committee, which is discussing a review of the system for probation officers who support the recovery of people who have finished serving time in prison, plans to present a draft interim report on the 21st. In order to resolve the shortage of personnel, the mainstay is the introduction of a public recruitment system on a trial basis.
Probation officers, who provide community support for people released from prisons and juvenile training schools, are aging, with 80% being over 60 years old, and the number of probation officers is decreasing year by year, which is an issue.
In light of this current situation, the Ministry of Justice's review committee has been discussing the system since May last year in order to make it sustainable in the future, and plans to present a draft interim report at a meeting to be held on the 21st.
According to the report, the current system in which probation officers are selected by recommendation has reached its limits in some regions, and a public recruitment system will be introduced on a trial basis.
In addition, the age at which a person is first appointed as a probation officer is, in principle, 66 years or younger, but this upper limit will be abolished from FY2020.
Furthermore, as it has been pointed out that the two-year term is ``short,'' we will consider revising it.
On the other hand, whether to pay compensation rather than volunteer work will be considered based on the impact on the probation officer system.
The Ministry of Justice's review committee plans to compile an interim report next month based on the draft.