There is no systematic record-keeping in Kazakhstan of how deferred sentences actually end. This is the conclusion reached by the editorial board of FBRK following a series of requests and complaints to state bodies.
WHAT WAS ESTABLISHED
According to responses from the Committee of the Criminal Executive System (CCES of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the RK) and the Committee on Legal Statistics and Special Records of the General Prosecutor's Office of the RK, official statistics cover only the stage of deferral imposition — how many people received it and under which articles of the law.
Information on the subsequent fate of convicts — specifically, how many of them actually proceed to serve their sentences — is absent from the reports.
HOW RESPONSIBILITY IS ALLOCATED
The agencies continue to point fingers at each other. During the consideration of complaints, their positions were clarified: the Committee on Legal Statistics recommends addressing inquiries to the CCES, while the CCES states that maintaining such statistics falls outside its remit.
At the same time, the CCES separately notes that it only has estimated data and does not keep official records.
INVESTIGATION FINDINGS
Thus, state statistics on sentence deferrals are limited to the stage of their imposition. Data on the actual consequences of this measure are not compiled within the system.
The editorial board of FBRK calls on state bodies to ensure the systematic recording of the outcomes of sentence deferrals, as, in our view, such data are necessary to assess the effectiveness of this measure and the level of its oversight.