Sentence Categories
Three key sentence categories underpin our work with offenders in the community and in prison.
A Community Order lasts a maximum of three years and contains at least one of set 12 requirements, including:
- completing a special programme that will target an individual’s offending behaviour
- residing in specified approved accommodation
- dealing with any substance misuse
- completing unpaid work for the good of local communities.
A Suspended Sentence Order (also known as Custody Minus) is a suspended period in prison of between 28 and 51 weeks, with community requirements set by the court from the same options as the Community Order.
A Suspended Sentence Order can be suspended for six to 24 months and can be activated if the offender breaks the conditions of the order, or is convicted of another offence during the period of the order.
Back to topCourt Teams
Probation staff work in court teams, preparing reports that inform the sentencing decisions of Magistrates and Judges. Nationally, we compile around 250,000 Pre-Sentence Reports every year.
A full Pre-Sentence Report gives an analysis of the offence, an insight into the offender’s circumstances and background, and proposes the sentence most likely to reduce risk and prevent further crimes. And it addresses two key issues:
- will the public be protected by the proposed measure
- does the punishment deal with the offender appropriately
Usually this is an offender’s first contact with us. Probation staff work as part of a court team for a number of years, allowing them to build up a level of expertise in court report writing and to become comfortable dealing with offenders.
Back to topProtecting the Public
The Home Office estimates between 5,000 – 7,500 ‘prolific’ offenders are responsible for 9% of all crimes. Prolific offenders are identified by local police and probation according to:
- the nature and volume of crimes being committed
- the nature and volume of harm being caused
- other local criteria based on the impact of the offender’s behaviour on the local community.
Our work with these people involves intensive management to provide rehabilitation designed reduce re-offending. Activities can include:
- work on drug or alcohol misuse
- specific programmes e.g. to address aggressive behaviour
- focussing on the impact of the crime on the victim
- compulsory unpaid work
- help seeking employment, training or education
Approved Premises
Formerly known as probation hostels, approved premises provide residential supervision from those who pose the most serious risk of harming the public. We create a structured environment to help offenders manage what otherwise are often chaotic personal circumstances. And we provide community facilities for work, education, training, treatment and recreation.
With firm boundaries of behaviour, and operating under strict house rules, including a night-time curfew, residents may be recalled to prison or taken back to court for sentence reviewing if they step out of line.
But, the stability and positive ethos we work hard to maintain can often provide offenders with that extra support needed to motivate them towards crime-free lives. And that is motivation enough for us.
Back to topResettlement
A crucial step towards reducing the risk of re-offending is ensuring offenders are provided with support to re-integrate into the community. From rebuilding relationships, contacting family and arranging stable accommodation to addressing addiction problems, and finding suitable employment or training, the work is varied and demanding.
At London Probation, we work with partner agencies and offenders to make sure that return to normal life in the community is well planned, supported and that potential risk to the public is minimised.
We undertake a range of assessments for prisons to help determine whether a prisoner is suitable for a home detention curfew, tagging, or to assess suitability for parole. And we help prepare offenders for release and supervise them on licence, regularly assessing an offender’s needs and risk of re-offending.
Back to topAccredited Programmes
As part of their sentence, many offenders are ordered to attend an offending behaviour
programme that has been researched and accredited as having an effect on criminal behaviour. Cognitive behavioural programmes are designed, for example, to help drink impaired drivers and domestic violence offenders.
These help improve offenders’ thinking skills, improve social interaction and reduce anti-social attitudes. Teaching participants how to stop and think first before acting has been shown to reduce reconviction rates by 10 – 15%.
Back to topVictim Contact
A delicate but often highly rewarding area of work, we work with victims of sexual or other, usually violent, offences. Some Probation Areas also offer a contact service to victims of families in cases that have resulted in death such as through a traffic accident.
Our Victim Contact Team help victims or their families understand the criminal justice process, and keep them informed about the progress of the offender through their sentence. Victims of crime are invited to comment on conditions of release; their views are taken into consideration during the life cycle of the sentence, helping inform the decision making process.
