Close to half of those placed on probation last year had been found guilty of theft or fraud-related crimes, a new Council of Europe study shows.

Published earlier this week, the annual penal statistics – commonly referred to as SPACEII –give an insight into probation trends across Europe.

The data on Malta showed that the majority of those who were put on probation in the year under review, 48.4 per cent, had committed so-called offences against property. 

Such crimes usually involve thefts, fraud, arson or even blackmail. This figure translates to about 304 people.

Coming closely behind were those found guilty of offences against people – 31.1 per cent of those on probation. 

This was followed by 12.4 per cent for drug offences and 1.8 per cent for road traffic offences. A further 6.4 per cent had committed “other offences”.

No foreigners put under the supervision of probation agencies

According to the study, there were 1,031 people under the supervision of probation officers in the period reviewed. The data also indicated that 6.2 per cent of those put on probation were minors and 2.5 per cent were women. No foreigners had been put under the supervision of probation agencies.

The figures show there were only 20 probation officers to cater for the island’s entire caseload. Another five occupied senior roles.

Probation officers have often complained about staffing problems, with their union issuing a series of directives at the end of last year after talks with the government stalled.

Probation officers have repeatedly said they were stretched to the limit, the small team tasked with following at least 1,000 offenders. Probation officers supervise offenders who are not imprisoned but are instead put on probation. The period under probation can last from one to three years.

When suspended sentences are handed down, a probation officer may be required to shadow the offender for up to four years.