FPSC - Bucharest

Project community service in Romania

This project found its beginnings at a conference of the Confederation of European Probation (CEP), where representatives of VEBO and Romanian justice became acquainted. One topic that was discussed was community service.

In Switzerland, short prison sentences of up to 180 days can be served doing community service. In this scheme, one day in prison is turned into four hours of community service. In the canton of Zürich, these hours are then served either in public institutions (like hospitals, retirement homes and the like) or in charitable organizations. For anyone not sufficiently fit for work, there's the ZSGE, the Foundation for the Care for Prisoners and the Released. About a quarter to a third of all hours of community service sentences are served there.

In Romania community service isn't a replacement of a prison sentence, but a condition of a suspended sentence or parole. The number of hours to be served is defined in court, and the sentenced has to serve their community service in municipalities and cities. Enforcement of sentences is not thorough, and the reporting procedure in place entirely insufficient.

Romania as a new EU member finds itself forced to expand its alternative penitentiary system. Part of this is the improvement of existing structures for community service. A new law was supposed to create better preconditions for this, and VEBO was asked to provide help building the new community service structures. The model and know-how of the ZSGE, especially their recycling workshop, was to serve as an example. The ZSGE's work was introduced at a conference in Bucharest in 2006.

Following study visits to Switzerland as well as a master thesis written at the University of Bucharest on the subject of community service, the relevant preconditions existed to create a new trusteeship, the FPSC foundation in Bucharest. In 2007 the application for funds to start building recycling workshops was submitted to the Lottery Fund of the Canton of Zürich.

In 2009, the first workshop was opened in Brașov in the presence of the Swiss ambassador. Over the following years, two more workshops were opened, one in Bucharest and one in Timișoara. Another workshop was planned, but not opened, as the legal situation still wasn't quite clear.

The Lottery Fund's finances were replaced with means from the the Swiss Contribution Fund in July 2011. The funding continues until 2016; for the time after, how to finance the workshops at this point isn't clear. VEBO will retreat from the project together with the other Swiss organizations.

With the legal situation being less than clear, the often insurmountable bureaucracy, and the stance of the Romanian Justice Ministry at times confusing, the project was brought close to shutdown several times. An achievement of the project, nevertheless, is that it set new standards all around in the area of community service and brought valuable experience. Seen from this point of view, the project has been a success. As far as sustainability is concerned, it's still too early for a final verdict.