Kazakhstan: Only 2% of ex-convicts were able to find a job last year
The Prosecutor General’s Office of Kazakhstan accused the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Population of non-compliance with probation legislation, which is expressed in poor work on employment of convicts and those released from places of deprivation of liberty.
According to the department, an inspection was carried out of compliance with the legislation on probation in the activities of the bodies of internal affairs, labor and social protection of the population, as well as city halls.
“The inspection showed that the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Population doesn’t ensure the proper performance of this function and is reduced only to statistical accounting of work quotas and employed persons. So, last year, among 67 thousand accountable probation services, only 1,500 people were employed, which is only 2%,” the Prosecutor General’s Office noted, adding that the activities of mayor’s offices for the social adaptation of such convicts and the provision of social and legal assistance to them are also organized insufficiently.
According to the supervisory authority, this approach has led to the fact that the level of recidivism among those sentenced to non-custodial sentences hasn’t decreased over the past five years.
“Last year, persons under probationary control committed 784 thefts, 109 frauds, 105 robberies, 31 murders, 24 assaults and 20 rapes. In this regard, it’s necessary to strengthen control over the execution of punishments by the internal affairs bodies,” the Prosecutor General’s Office believes.
The Ministry also reported that, based on the results of inspections, the government was submitted a proposal to eliminate violations of the law and the reasons contributing to them, within which the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan instructed the authorized bodies to take appropriate measures.
