The Council of Europe Annual Penal Statistics on Persons under the Supervision of Probation Agencies (known as „SPACE II“) has been published. The document provides data on non-custodial sanctions and measures in 41 out of 51 probation agencies in the 46 Council of Europe´s Member States. 

On 31 January 2023, there were 1 330 838 persons under supervision of probation agencies. This data corresponds to a median European probation population rate of 164 persons under probation / 100 000 inhabitants. Compared to 2022, the total number of persons under probation stayed stable from 1 315 131 to 1 330 838 in 2023.  

Almost 89% of persons under supervision are male with approximately 11% of female. The number of female under supervision is higher than in prisons (approx. 5%). The higher percentage of women in probation can be explained by the types of offences (less serious not leading to a prison sentence) and by the fact that women as primary caregivers of minor children are placed on probation or granted conditional release more often than men. 

The median percentage of foreigners under supervision is 11,7% compared to more than 16% of foreigners in prisons. Most of the foreigners are placed on probation in Western and Central Europe. To compare, the percentage of foreigners in prison in Eastern Europe is lower than 5% while in Central and Western Europe it is at least of 10%. A few countries, e.g. Greece, Austria, Switzerland, Catalonia-Spain, reached 50% and higher.  The reasons behind can be e.g. more difficulties faced to meet the conditions to be placed on probation with troubles to get accommodation or the fact that after serving the prison sentence some of the foreigners will be deported from the country.  

The report including key findings can be downloaded here: https://wp.unil.ch/space/space-ii/annual-reports/