Research & reports
| Published date | 01 September 2008 |
| Date | 01 September 2008 |
| Author | Emma Cluley |
| DOI | 10.1177/0264550508097474 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Research
& reports
The Journal of Community and Criminal Justice
Copyright © 2008 NAPO Vol 55(3): 295–301
DOI: 10.1177/0264550507085682
www.napo.org.uk
http://prb.sagepub.com
Community sentences in England and Wales
The National Audit Office considered the delivery of community sentences follow-
ing the introduction of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 in England and Wales. This
Act introduced the current style of community sentences, Community Orders, and
the courts can attach one or more of 12 requirements accordingly. Offenders on
licence or Suspended Sentence Orders were not considered. Five probation areas
of differing geographical make up were included in the audit. 302 case files were
reviewed combined with reviewing the 642 assessments of cases undertaken by
HM Inspectorate.
The report provided general information about the workload profile of the NPS
including:
● In 2006 the Court imposed 121,690 Community Orders and the most
commonly used requirement was supervision (37%).
● Between 2006 and 2007 the 42 Areas spent £807 million supervising
Community Orders.
● In 2006 half of the Community Orders made had only one requirement,
unpaid work being the single most common requirement, with 32 per cent
of Orders having unpaid work attached.
● The average length of orders imposed was 14 months and 17 per cent
included accredited programmes.
● Attendance centre, mental health treatment, prohibitive activity, exclusion
and residence requirements were all used in less than 1 per cent of Orders
of the case examples.
The key findings from the audit were:
● Some requirements, in particular alcohol treatment were found not to be
available or rarely used in some Areas. This raised concerns as to whether
Community Orders were addressing the underlying issues attributed to
offending as effectively as they could.
● Positive changes in offenders’ attitudes and risk of harm were found with
only 17 per cent of risk of harm levels increasing.
295
296 Probation Journal 55(3)
● Probation provides the opportunity for offenders to gain education and
skills. In 2006–07, 60,118 skills for life referrals were made (literacy and
numeracy assessment). During the same period 19,266 (12%) of
probationers secured employment and of these 13,829 secured the
employment for at least four weeks.
● The chaotic lives and the complex needs of offenders present considerable
challenges for delivery of community orders. Offender Managers (OM) are
trying to accommodate unstable and uncertain factors when managing an
Order.
● During 2006–07 the majority of accredited programmes were completed,
with just 2.5 per cent not being completed before the Order expired. Long
waiting lists for some programmes contributed to programme requirements
being unfinished. This can increase risk of harm levels. The report urges
the NPS to look at operational systems to minimize such occurrences.
Childcare and chaotic lifestyles were also contributory factors for non
completion.
● The reasons accepted for an ‘acceptable’ absence varied. Sick note or
self-certification were the most common at 12 and 11 per cent respectively.
In 7 per cent of the cases audited, no reason was detailed. Four per cent
were the fault of the probation area, for example not sending an
appointment letter.
● One of the principles of the Offender Management Model is for the
offender to be managed by the same OM throughout the course of their
sentence. In 2 per cent of the case files reviewed by the NAO the OM
changed. Of cases reviewed by the HM Inspectorate, 66 per cent of the
cases experienced a change in OM.
● There were inconsistencies of...
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