Halliday Report (2001)
Existing law was too complex
Too many different types of community orders with different restrictions
Difficult to place in the hierarchy
Viewed as being less serious than imprisonment, but had very onerous conditions and breach could result in custody
Community sentences could only be used under CJA 1991 if the offence was too serious for fines
Difficult to rank the “punitive weight” of different community sentences in order to ensure proportionality
Viewed by the public as “insufficiently punitive or protective of communities”
The single Community Sentence
CJA 2003 introduced a single sentence with different requirements that can be imposed
S148(1): the offence (or in combination with associated offences) must be serious enough to warrant a community sentence
Shouldn’t be used for minor cases, which can be dealt with via discharge or fine
BUT allows for fines to be used even where the threshold for community sentences is passed
Sentencing guidelines usually divide them into low, medium and high community orders based on seriousness of the offence
S151: court can impose a community sentence on an offender who has been fined on 3 or more occasions since the age of 16 even if the current offence doesn’t meet the threshold
If it is in the interests of justice to impose a community sentence
Unpaid work requirement (s199)
Required to perform 40-300 hours of work to be carried out within 12 months
Principles
Cheaper alternative to imprisonment
Symbolic reparation to the community
Allows them to be supported within the community during the sentence
Type of work is determined by probation service
Most common single requirement used in 2007 community orders
Usually for offenders with fewer problems (e.g. addictions and disorders)
Activity requirement (s201)
Offender can be required to participate in specified activities for up to 60 days, usually at a community rehabilitation centre
Only if the probation officer has been consulted and court satisfied that compliance is feasible
Programme requirement (s202)
Offender can be required to participate in an accredited programme
Only if a probation officer has recommended the programme as being suitable
e.g. Reasoning and Rehabilitation, Think First, anger management
3rd most frequently used requirement in 2007, usually combined with others
Prohibited activity requirement (s203)
Prohibits the offender from participating in specified activities for a certain period or on specific days (e.g. banned from driving)
Probation officer must be consulted
Hardly used
Curfew requirement (s204)
Maximum period of 6 months
Must be imposed with an electronic monitoring requirement unless an exception applies (e.g. inappropriate in these circumstances)
Useful in disrupting “pattern offending”
Hucklesby (2008): curfews can be rehabilitative
Of limited incapacitative effect
Combined with supervision requirement, can help offenders to disengage from habits and criminal networks (although difficult to align curfews with employment hours)
Exclusion requirement (s205)
Offender banned from entering a specific place for up to 2 years (similar to ASBO)
Residence requirement (s206)
Can only specify a hostel or institution if recommended by a probation officer
Could be required to stay at home or with a relative
Mental health treatment requirement (s207-208)
Drug rehabilitation requirement (s209-211)
Offender required to submit to drug treatment and testing for at least 6 months
Only applicable if offender has a treatable dependency on drugs
Might be used for rehabilitative purposes even if the custody threshold is passed
Alcohol treatment requirement (s212)
Similar to drug rehabilitation requirement except without testing
Treatment programmes usually funded by NHS so not widely available
Supervision requirement (s213)
Effectively replaces the probation order
Most used requirement (>1/3) in 2007, can be combined with other requirements
Usually used for offenders with past convictions who were unemployed
National Probation Service will categorise offenders into 4 tiers according to their degree of risk, with stricter and more frequent supervision for the higher tiers
Attendance centre requirement (s214)
Offender can be required to attend at an attendance centre for between 12-36 hrs
Can only be used for offenders under 25
S148(2): restrictions on liberty must be “commensurate with the seriousness of the offence”
The requirements must also be the “most suitable” for the offender
Courts should ask for a pre-sentence report after deciding to give a community sentence
Court has an obligation to indicate the purpose(s) it seeks to achieve (e.g. rehabilitation, punishment, protection of the public)
Low range orders are most appropriate for offences below the s148 threshold
i.e. those imposed via s151
Medium range community sentences are primarily for theft offences
High range community sentences are appropriate for offences around the custody threshold
SGC (2004): can be imposed “for an offence that passes the custody threshold where the court considers that to be appropriate”
Offenders can be given more than one successive community sentence
Having completed a community sentence doesn’t make them ineligible for further community sentences (especially since different requirements can be imposed)
Offender Manager can choose to give a warning instead of initiating breach proceedings on the first breach, but must initiate proceedings for the second breach
SGC guidelines: primary objective of the Court in breach proceedings is to ensure that sentence requirements are finished
Can either amend the community order to add more onerous requirements or revoke the order and sentence for the...
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