Community Service Orders
Instead of a prison sentence, you may be given the opportunity to perform unpaid work for the community. The legislation for Community Service Orders allows the Judge sentence you to between 40 and 240 hours work.
You must be 16 years or over to be considered.
Community Service is a direct alternative to a prison sentence and will only be considered by the Judge if a custodial sentence has first been considered. The steps involved are as follows:
- The judge will ask the Probation and Welfare Service to complete an assessment as to whether you are suitable or not to do community service and whether there is work available for you to do;
- A probation officer will meet with you in preparing the report;
- You must agree to do the work and the Judge will specify the sentence you will serve if you fail to complete the order;
- The number of hours per week you work is agreed with your probation officer;
- It is your responsibility to finish this work on time;
- It is the responsibility of the probation officer to bring the case back to court for any failure to complete the order.
The aim of Community Service is to get you to pay back to the community in a positive way for the damage caused by offending. Every year thousands of unpaid hours of work are completed, benefiting many community and voluntary groups.
