Surrey and Sussex Probation Trust has staff serving every court in Surrey and Sussex. They play a vital role in assisting magistrates and judges to decide on the most effective and suitable sentences for offenders. We also enforce the sentence of the court and return offenders who do not comply with the requirements of their sentence.
There are four sentencing options open to the court:
- Discharges (offenders are not punished providing they comply with certain conditions)
- Fines
- Community Orders (sometimes called Community Sentences)
- Prison
Pre-Sentence Reports
Once an individual is convicted, the magistrates or a judge may ask for a report to be prepared by the probation service. The sentencers will tell the probation service how serious they consider the offence to be and the purpose of the sentence - e.g. to rehabilitate or punish the offender or to protect the public. According to the seriousness of the crime or the complexity of the case probation officers will either produce a:
- Standard-Delivery Report,
- Fast-Delivery Report
- Oral Report.
A pre sentence report will look at the reasons why the person committed the offence, their attitude to the offence and to any victims and other factors including relationships, substance misuse and housing. The report will also include an assessment of the offender's risk of harm and risk of reconviction.
