Historical Development And Early Release Models For Prisoners: The Importance For Contemporary Croatian Criminal Justice Practice

An early release from prison was at its beginnings designed as a reward for appropriate behavior of offenders during the execution of long-term sentences, and was applied as the exception. It is now used much more frequently and within different models developed through the time. In regards to the authority that may grant an early release, the early release criteria, and the point in time from which it is possible to grant early release, conditions and restrictions which can be imposed and ways of supervision and revocation, we can find some similarities in legislation and implementation between countries, but also many important differences. An early release from prison often leads to various debates in public. It is frequently subject of debate of experts and scientists, and attracts the attention of the political structures, often with a lot of disagreement and a number of dilemmas. On the one hand, there are demands for the abolition of an early release, but simultaneously due to overcapacity of many prison systems, back door strategies become very important instruments in reducing the prison population. These strategies have a major role in the social integration of offenders, whereby it is important to respect rights and safety of the victim and also to protect the community. There is currently increased interest in early release in Croatia, mainly for three reasons. These are (1) the growing overcapacity of prison system, (2) the beginning of probation supervision of early released prisoners, and (3) new legislation on conditional release within the new Criminal Code (Official Gazette, no. 125/2011) which comes into force on 1st of January 2013. The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of theoretical knowledge and historical development of early release, to present and compare different models of early release in different countries, as well as to discuss some of the contemporary difficulties and dilemmas. At the same time, we have also analyzed the current situation in Croatia, in the way that the experiences of other countries were used to present possible recommendations for overcoming the existing overcapacity of Croatian prison system, for further development of the Croatian probation system and for general improvement of the early release in our country. Adapted from the source document.