A community sentence is ‘not’ a soft option. It combines punishment with changing an offender’s behaviour for the better. It also provides the offender with an opportunity to deal with any problems that may have led them to offend. It allows the offender to be punished whilst remaining in the community.

The Community Order is flexible and can be made up of a variety of individual requirements. This flexible approach allows sentencers to tailor individual requirements which best suit the offender.

The twelve requirements are as follows:

Unpaid Work: Unpaid Work is intended as a punishment for lower level crimes and it is also a means by which offenders can make amends to their community for the harm they have caused.

Unpaid Work is one of the 12 requirements in the Community Order. Magistrates and Judges can order offenders to undertake a specified number of hours. The hours worked can vary from 40 hours to 300 hours.

Offenders are expected to undertake a minimum of six hours a week and to have completed their ordered hours within 12 months. Completion time can be shorter depending on the number of hours. The type of work carried out includes:

• Graffiti removal
• Street clean-ups
• Ground clearance
• Recycling projects
• Building maintenance and landscaping
• Improvements to parks and community facilities
• Environmental preservation programmes
• General gardening projects
• Painting and decorating in community centres and meeting places

The local community of Northamptonshire benefits from this work and members of the public can also suggest projects for offenders to undertake.

Activity Requirement: The activity requirement include activities which may help offenders deal with their offending or to make amends for their offending. Such activities may include: Managing finances, looking at victim issues, improving skills or addressing housing issues. Alternatively offenders may be given help to find a job or to improve their skills. This may include writing skills, problem solving, interview skills, or help to attend a training programme.

Programmes: Northamptonshire Probation Trust undertakes several different programmes with offenders. The programme requirement aim to teach offenders how to think or behave differently so as to help offenders  stay out of trouble. The programme may include looking at how offenders handle problems, deal with other people and behave in difficult situations. For example the Thinking Skills Programme (TSP)  looks at Self Control, Problem Solving and Positive Relationships.

Curfew: A curfew requirement means that offenders must be at a particular place at certain times of the day or night. This is normally between 2 and 12 hours at a time depending on what the court has decided. The purpose of curfew is to break habits of re-offending and to help structure an offender’s life.

Prohibited Activity Requirement: This requirement involves an offender being ordered not to take part in specific activities. For example an offender may have been causing trouble at football matches and the court orders the offender to stop going to them.

Mental Health Treatment: The court may decide that an offender would benefit from mental health treatment. This treatment is supervised by a medical professional.

Exclusion: An exclusion requirement means that an offender cannot go to a particular place or places on certain days and at certain times. For example this place might be part of a town, a football ground or someone else’s home. It is common that with an exclusion requirement, the offender will be required to wear an electronic tag.

Alcohol Treatment: The alcohol treatment requirement is ordered by the courts if alcohol was a factor in the offence committed. Offenders on this requirement will receive treatment which may include counselling. This will last for up to 3 years if the offender is on a Community Order or for up to 2 years if an offender is on a Suspended Sentence Order.

Residence: A Residence Requirement means that an offender must live in a particular place. This might be someone else's home or it might be a probation hostel (Approved Premises).

Drug Rehabilitation: An offender may be subject to a Drug Rehabilitation requirement if their offending was linked to drug abuse. The treatment may involve counselling, substitute prescribing or attending a day centre. Offenders on this requirement are tested regularly to monitor their use of drugs.

The court will want to review the progress an offender is making and therefore offenders will be expected to attend a court review hearing.  The court will decide how well an offender is doing.

Supervision: Offenders may be subject to supervision and this involves regular meetings with a supervising officer. During supervision sessions, an offender’s sentence plan will be produced, acted upon and reviewed. The sentence plan monitors an offender’s risk of harm and also helps offenders make positive changes to their lives.

Attendance Centre: An Attendance Centre will be at a place in the community, such as a school and will usually be run on a Saturday. A person called the ‘Officer in Charge’ will supervise offenders subject to this requirement.  Offenders are required to attend the Centre on a regular basis to do physical exercise or some sort of indoor training. (Note: NPT do not have an attendance centre).

Approved Premises: Northamptonshire Probation Trust has one Approved Premises, a hostel which provides resettlement services for offenders needing additional supervision support or have recently been released from prison.

Offenders are encourged to make positive changes in their lifestyle through participation in a range of activities which includes gardening, fitness, cooking and art. There is also a strong emphasis on supporting offenders into employment, improving their education and skills to help them settle back into the community.

Prisons: Probation staff work with prisoners who are sentenced for more than 12 months, providing specified programmes which aim to address offending behaviour and change attitudes.

To download a leaflet on Community Orders, please click here