Previous Article
News
Day in a life of probation officer – Katharina Heitz
Is the day of a probation officer in Germany similar to the one of someone working in Romania? In the series ‘A day in the life of a probation officer’, we publish articles written by probation officers from different countries in Europe to see if their days look alike or are very different from each other. This article is written by Katharina Heitz, a probation officer from Germany.
After a few hearings in court, I take the train to the office. Unsuspecting, I walk along the castle park. My office is located in the most beautiful part of the city: the baroque castle. Halfway there, a client sits on a bench. He looks ostentatiously at the ground. When he sees me, he runs toward me and greets me with the words: “I want to go back to prison! Do something!” I invite him to follow me to the office.
Mr. XY served 5 years in prison for a botched robbery. Now another 5-year probation period followed. While in prison, he completed an apprenticeship. The debts, because of which he committed the robbery, have now been rehabilitated with the help of a fund for delinquent people.
He has found a good job and spent his free time with changing girlfriends. Life has been good! But now this: The bank informed him that they wanted to change the terms of termination. Mr. XY understood, often expecting negative things in life: His account has been cancelled. So he went and withdrew the entire sum of €2,000. He put the money in his fanny pack. On the way home, he lost the money…
The job of a German probation officer is to prevent their clients from committing further crimes. How that can be accomplished can only be determined on a case-by-case basis. In particular, the history of criminal behavior, a criminogenic environment as well as criminogenic attitudes play a central role there.
In Mr. XY’s case, however, it was predominantly a matter of coping with frustration and thus negative feelings and solving problems in a socially adequate way. So I offered him to bring letters to me that he did not understand so that we could read and understand them together. He gratefully accepted the offer and did not want to go back to prison after all.
Related News
Keep up to date with the latest developments, stories, and updates on probation from across Europe and beyond. Find relevant news and insights shaping the field today.
New
Mental Health
European Mental Health Week: strengthening probation practice through mental health
13/05/2026
This week, during Mental Health Awareness Week, the Confederation of European Probation is highlighting the importance of mental health in probation practice across Europe.
New
Probation in Europe, Research
Free Research Resource: KrimDok
12/05/2026
Looking for reliable criminological literature? KrimDok is a free online database developed by the University of Tübingen and supported by the German Research Foundation (DFG).
The database contains nearly 400,000 references to books, journal articles, reports, and other publications covering criminology and related fields such as criminal justice, psychology, sociology, education, and law. It draws on a specialist criminology library established in 1969, with a collection of around 150,000 titles, and includes indexed articles from more than 200 academic journals.
Reading corner
Violent Extremism
New newsletter available: EU Knowledge Hub on Prevention of Radicalisation
11/05/2026
The latest edition of the EU Knowledge Hub newsletter brings together policy, research, and practice to address evolving radicalisation threats across Europe.
New
Gender-based violence
New European Master’s Programme on Perpetrator Intervention Launched
07/05/2026
The European Network for the Work with Perpetrators of Domestic Violence (WWP EN), in collaboration with Blanquerna – Universitat Ramon Llull (Barcelona), has launched a pioneering new programme:
Lifelong Learning Master’s Degree in Intervention Strategies with Perpetrators of Gender-Based Violence: Social, Clinical, and Legal Perspectives
This initiative represents the first international lifelong learning Master’s programme specifically focused on perpetrator intervention, offering a unique opportunity for professionals working to address and prevent gender-based violence across Europe and beyond.
New
Education and Training
CEP Expert Network on Education and Training Publishes Technical Recommendations on Mentoring in Probation Training
06/05/2026
The Confederation of European Probation (CEP) is pleased to present the Technical Recommendations on Mentoring in the Context of Probation Training, developed through the work of the CEP Expert Network on Education and Training.
This publication is the result of extensive collaborative exchange among 30 experts from 15 European jurisdictions, who convened in March 2025 in Agen, France, at the École Nationale d’Administration Pénitentiaire (ENAP). Bringing together probation directors, middle managers, practitioners, and representatives from training institutions, the network worked collectively to identify shared challenges, exchange practices, and formulate practical recommendations to strengthen mentoring within probation services across Europe.
Probation Journal
Research
What is the societal value of probation?
04/05/2026
During the CEP 15th General Assembly and International Conference on Gender-Based Violence in Probation (from 14 to 16 October 2025 in Vienna, Austria), the Dutch research group Modelling Societal Impact received the CEP Probation Research Award for their work on the societal impact of the Dutch probation services. The research has since been completed. There are multiple reports published (in Dutch) and a short videocast with English subtitles. For anyone interested, see below an oversight of the published research and relevant links to the publications and videocast.
This research may help other European countries demonstrate the added value of probation for their national context. If you would like to learn more about this, please contact: a.a.nemeth@saxion.nl (dr.ir. Attila Németh) or a.visser@saxion.nl (Anouk Visser, MSc.)
Subscribe to our bi-monthly email newsletter!
- Keep up to date with important probation developments and insights.