Ladies and gentlemen,

I firmly believe that the coming period will bring us the joy of meaningful work, but also new opportunities that will bring us pleasure in our professional and personal lives.

Our daily agenda continues to include professional work not only with offenders but also with victims of crime in accordance with the principles of restorative justice.

Our common goal is to reduce recidivism, support victims of crime, develop amicable conflict resolution, promote wider use of alternative sentencing and continually improve the quality of our services. The modern, effective and humane sentencing policy we strive to pursue contributes to a safer society and fairer treatment for all those affected by crime.

Continuing to build a stable, effective and high quality Probation and Mediation Service requires long term planning, investment in staff and infrastructure, but most importantly creating an inclusive and supportive atmosphere for both our wonderful colleagues and all those who use these services.

Focusing on the well-being of staff, strengthening existing activities, supporting victims of crime more systematically, developing programme centres and probation houses and other important steps are key to achieving lasting improvements in probation and mediation work. The challenge is also to promote the active use of electronic monitoring, which can in many ways be an alternative in court decision-making. I am convinced that the Probation and Mediation Service is actively working on the aforementioned topics, and I see the role of the Director of the Service as very important for the stabilization of the entire organization, but also for better communication with the political representation, civil society and the professional and lay public about the importance and irreplaceability of the Service in modern criminal policy in the 21st century.

Sincerely,

Gabriela Slováková

Director General of the Probation and Mediation Service