Offender Supervision
The supervision of offenders in the community is the primary statutory responsibility of the Probation Service, and forms the majority of our work nationwide. The most widely used orders for supervision are the following:
Probation Orders
Probation orders are one of a range of options open to courts when sentencing individuals found guilty of criminal behaviour. Offenders give an undertaking to the court that they will be of good behaviour, avoid further crime and adhere to the conditions of the order. Standard conditions include:
• to be of good behaviour;
• to follow the instructions of the supervising Probation Officer ; and
• inform the supervising officer of any change of address.
There can be additional conditions ordered by the court. Examples may include:
• participation in a training course;
• residence in a hostel; and
• attendance at a treatment clinic or programme
District Courts can make a Probation Order for any period up to three years. Higher courts sometimes order longer periods on supervision.
Post Release Supervision Orders
Under the Sex Offenders Act, 2001, Judges can sentence sex offenders to a period of supervision following their release from prison. Such offenders are monitored closely and the work of the Probation Officer focuses on the offence committed and its implications for public safety, helping the offender to see the past offending behaviour as a problem, and developing strategies and supports to ensure there is no repeat offending.
Conditional Suspended Sentences
In some courts Judges can deal with a case by way of a suspended sentence with conditions of supervision. This means the Judge may:
•issue a prison sentence of a number of months or years;
•suspend all or part of the sentence for a period of time conditional on the offender remaining under the supervision of a Probation Officer for the specified time .
Supervised Temporary Release
The Probation Service supervises prisoners on temporary release from custody (as provided for in the Criminal Justice Act, 1960 and the Temporary Release Act, 2003) in the community with specific conditions providing for their supervision by the Service.
Life sentence prisoners on release in the community are obliged to co-operate and comply with Probation Service supervision on temporary release. Such prisoners, in the normal course, remain subject to supervision for the remainder of their lives.
What does probation supervision involve?
Someone who is placed on supervision is required to maintain regular contact with their supervising Probation Officer and comply with all conditions of the order. During the supervision programme, offenders are helped to identify the causes of their offending behaviour and ways of avoiding it happening again. The supervising officer will visit the offender at home and may involve family members or others if they feel this will assist the offender avoid further offending. The offender will also meet the supervising officer at his or her office.
Offenders may be required to participate in a group-work programme. Programmes address a range of issues:
• offending attitude and behaviour,
• substance misuse,
• anger management,
Please see pages on our Community Based Projects and Programmes for further detail.
Failure to comply with supervision
Failure by an offender to comply with supervision will be addressed in the first instance with him or her by the supervising officer and may lead to the case being returned to court. This can result in a custodial sentence or other sanction being decided upon by the court.
In the case of temporary release, failure to comply with supervision may result in an immediate return to custody.
