Exploring Thailand’s Probationary Practices Since COVID-19: Changes in Strategies with Regards to Probation Supervision

ABSTRACT

The COVID-19 pandemic had a critical impact on the Thai criminal justice system. The goal of this study is to explore policies and practices of Thailand’s Department of Probation as it responded to the COVID-19 pandemic. This study surveyed probation officers in Thailand (N = 534) from March to April 2021, focusing on probation practices and case management issues prior- and post- COVID-19. Data reveals that, overall, the frequency of officer-offender contacts remained steady even though the type of contact changed after COVID-19. In-person contact was replaced by remote contact strategies, specifically telephone calls, which increased significantly following the onset of the pandemic.

KEYWORDS:

• Thailand
• probation
• parole
• community corrections
• community supervision

Declarations

All authors certify that they have no affiliations with or involvement in any organization or entity with any financial interest or non-financial interest in the subject matter or materials discussed in this manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. The office size is determined by two factors; 80% of the determination is represented by the size of the caseloads in the past two years, and the remaining 20% accounts for the area of jurisdiction.

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.