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Moldovans live in fear – new survey
2 decembrie 2009
Anunţ valabil pînă pe data de 31 decembrie 2009
Victor Munteanu: +373 22 27 00 31 vmunteanu@soros.md (Chisinau)
CHISINAU, 2 December, 2009 –More than half of the population of Moldova is afraid to walk the streets at night and a quarter feel afraid in their homes at night. Less than a third of the population thinks the criminal justice system performs well. These are just some of the findings of an extensive research project, which included a nationwide survey of public opinion, by the Soros Foundation – Moldova into the criminal justice system, which was launched on 2 December 2009.
Criminal Justice Performance from a Human Rights Perspective sought to assess whether criminal justice in Moldova has transformed to ensure that democratic and human rights protections are in place both in law and in practice. The report, the first of its kind in Moldova, analyzed amendments to the law, official statistics and reports, the opinions of officials in the system and the attitudes of the population to the criminal justice system. The report found that the Moldovan criminal justice system has so far failed to meet the new priorities and objectives of a democratic rights-based criminal justice system, with many habits and practices of the past persisting in the system as well as new problems.
Of particular concern was the unusual finding that citizens’ perceptions of criminal justice institutions tended to worsen after they have had any contact with institutions in the system, whether as victim, witness or suspect – in countries with reformed systems contact usually improves perceptions. This may explain why in spite of high levels of fear, there is little public support for more funding of the criminal justice system. "It was particularly disturbing that the people of Moldova placed such a low priority on funding the criminal justice system. For example even sport was prioritised for funding above the police. It shows that people have no faith that better resources will improve policing," said Jean Redpath, international criminal justice expert involved in analysis of the findings.
Among the problems identified as underpinning the low ratings found in the survey is the continuing tendency of officials from all criminal justice agencies to focus on numerical performance indicators, leading to a focus on quantity over quality. Indicators for one agency may also be in conflict with those of another agency, while many indicators are open to manipulation, leading to a distorted official view of the system.
Structural problems were also indentified, including the ambit of the prosecution office’s powers continuing to extend well beyond prosecution, which seriously affects its ability to focus on quality prosecutions. The report found that judges feel flooded with cases and are pressured to deliver quick judgements and still frequently face the problem of "telephone justice" - pressure from outside to deliver a particular outcome.
The report further found that while prisons have made some progress in improving conditions of imprisonment, rehabilitation and reintegration of prisoners remains a challenge. Defence lawyers feel they are still struggling to get recognition and a place in the criminal justice system as defenders of rights, rather than as the state system’s supporters. Reform of the police, probably the most important component of the system, has been seriously neglected in the democratic era.
The public is not alone in its low trust in the system. The report noted that none of the officials interviewed, whether from the police, prosecution, courts, prisons and defence lawyers, said they would have full trust in the criminal justice system, should they be a victim of a crime or a detained person. The interviewed decision-makers acknowledged lack of a comprehensive criminal justice policy, a disconnection between policy and realities, and conflicting goals of different criminal justice agencies.
"I was genuinely shocked by the high numbers of Moldovans who do not feel safe from crime, even in their own home. But I was impressed by the commitment of some of those that we met to improve the criminal justice system," said Roger Smith, international human rights expert involved in the fieldwork conducted for the report. "The will and commitment of the policy-makers and criminal justice actors is crucial for fundamentally reforming the system."
The report offers recommendations to improve and build confidence in the criminal justice system, including a review of criminal justice data collection methods and performance targets, goals and interaction of the various agencies in the system. Police reform is urgent, including the conceptual framework and methods of operation on the ground. The report also recommends reform of the prosecution office toward it becoming a genuine prosecutorial body rather than an "all-powerful prosecution". The report recommends a reorientation towards the needs of the people rather than the needs of the state.
"Such low public confidence in the criminal justice system is both shocking and worrying, and calls for immediate reforms. Without public confidence in the criminal justice system, it cannot operate effectively, nor can it be efficient. A dysfunctional criminal justice system endangers all other legal reforms and needs appropriate attention," said Victor Munteanu, Law Program Director of the Soros Foundation – Moldova and project leader on this report.
"The Soros Foundation – Moldova is ready to support the Government and civil society in building criminal justice policy analysis capacity, to support sensible policy-making, which seems to be one of the main reasons for democratic and human rights protections and objectives as laid out in law not being realised in practice. We have already initiated a victimisation survey, which will provide an alternative to the official statistics on criminal justice and further indicate the needs of reform," said Mr Munteanu.
The Report in English and Romanian is available on our website: www.soros.md
The Soros Foundation - Moldova (SFM) is a non-governmental, non-for-profit and non-political organization which was established in 1992 by the financier and the philanthropist George Soros to promote the development of an open society in Moldova by developing and implementing a range of programs and activities that address specific areas of needs including cultural policy, education policy, legal reform and public administration, media and information, civil society, public health and European integration. www.soros.md
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