Supervising Community Sentences
Offenders sentenced to Community Orders may be required to attend supervision appointments with an Offender Manager from Surrey and Sussex Probation Trust.
After an initial meeting the Offender Manager will agree a sentence plan which includes the aims of the supervision and the frequency of appointments. This is in effect a contract between the offender and their Offender Manager.
Offender Managers will work with offenders to:
- Promote personal and behaviour change
- Monitor and review patterns of behaviour and personal activity
- Reflect on the crimes committed and the affect on victims
- Motivate and provide practical support
- Support and reinforce learning undertaken as part of a Programme or Activity Requirement
- Undergo counselling
- Provide support on fulfilling other aspects of their Community Order
- Refer the offender to other services to provide support and advice, such as education and training, housing and mental health.
Community sentences have been proven to be both punishing and effective in reducing crime and this makes them much more appropriate for some offences. For many offenders, Community Orders are tougher than a prison sentence because they are made to face the consequences of their actions in the community. They may also allow an offender to keep their job, retain family ties and their home - all crucial factors in preventing re-offending.
Community order requirements
Community sentences are not new, they were first introduced in 1907. A community order is made up from a combination of 12 requirements, each of which is designed to punish, change, control and help the offender turn away from a life of crime.
The 12 different requirements of a community sentence
Punish
- Compulsory unpaid work such as removing graffiti and cleaning up derelict areas (could be between 40 and 300 hours).
- Specific activities, such as attending a community drug centre or literacy and numeracy classes.
- A curfew, during which time (two to 12 hours a day) the offender must stay indoors. The offender is usually monitored with an electronic tag.
- A requirement to spend between 12 and 36 hours at an attendance centre, addressing their behaviour in a group environment.
Change
- Supervision through regular meetings with a probation officer designed to change attitudes and behaviour.
- An accredited programme to tackle issues such as anger management, domestic violence, substance abuse and drink driving.
Control
- Prohibited activities, such as being banned from entering pubs or attending football matches.
- Exclusion from a place, usually the scene of a crime, such as a town centre or the vicinity of a pub, shop, workplace or person's house.
- Residence with an automatic curfew at a probation hostel or other approved premises.
Help
- Mental health treatment.
- Drug rehabilitation.
- Alcohol treatment.
