Powers of the Courts-ADULT COMMUNITY ORDERS Flashcards
What did the Criminal Justice Act 2003 do which stopped community orders being seen as ‘soft’ to use by courts ?
-Created one community order in which the court can combine any requirements they think are necessary
What is a positive about being able to ‘mix and match’ sentence requirements for community orders?
This allows the courts to fit the restrictions and rehabilitation to the offenders needs.
What is the age needed to be for community order sentences?
16 and over
Where are the full list of requirements available to the courts (what powers)?
in s.117 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003
What are the types of community order requirements?
12
- an activity requirement
- an attendance centre requirement, in the a case the offender is under 25,
- alcohol treatment requirement
- programme requirement
- prohibited activity requirement
- curfew requirement
- drug rehabilitation requirement
- exclusion requirement
- mental heath treatment requirement
- residence requirement
- supervision requirement
- unpaid work requirement
How many hours can the courts sentence you to an’ unpaid work requirement’ ?
offender must work between 40 and 300 hours on a suitable project organised by the probation service
How long must the offender work on ‘unpaid work requirements’?
usually 8 hour sessions often at weekends
What type of work is involved in the ‘unpaid work requirement’ community order?
(2)
This will vary depending on what schemes the local probation service have running
- paint school buildings
- help build a play centre of work on conservation projects
Which french footballer was given an ‘unpaid work requirement’ for assaulting a football fan?
Eric Cantona
What did the court require Eric Cantona do as his ‘unpaid work requirement’?
help at coaching sessions for young footballers
What is a criticism of unpaid work requirement ?
The number of hours are not enough
-other countries run similar schemes which impose much longer hours
What is prohibited activity requirement ?
This requirement allows a wide variety of activities be prohibited
What is the aim of a prohibited activity requirement ?
the idea is to try to prevent the defendant from committing another crime of the crime that he has just been convicted of
What is the most common type of prohibited activity requirement?
give an example of something prohibited
Often the defendant is forbidden to go into a certain area where he has caused trouble
-In some cases a defendant has been banned from wearing a hoodie
What happened in 2006 to a defendant who was found guilty of criminal damage? (4)
They were banned from carrying paint, dye, ink or marker pens
What is a curfew requirement?hours
Where the defendant is ordered to remain at a fixed address between 2-16 hours in an 24 hour period
How long can curfew requirements last?
up to 6 months
When can a court use a curfew requirement?
When there is an agreement for monitoring curfews in their area
How can curfew requirements be monitored?
4
- spot checks
- security firms sending someone to make sure that the offender is home
- electronically tagged
- pilot schemes on using satellite technology to track those who are tagged
What is a negative and positive of curfew requirements?
electronically tagging is expensive BUT it is cheaper than keeping an offender in prison
How much has the use of electronic tagging increased from 2005-2011?
its use has doubled
What did the report of 2012 by the Chief Inspector of probation show in regards to curfew requirements?
That over half of offenders ordered to wear an electronic tag broke the terms of their curfew
- 20% were minor violations
- 37% were serious violations
What are exclusion requirements?
Where offenders are ordered not to go to to certain places
-The order can specify different places for different periods or days
What is the purpose of exclusion requirements?
the intent is to keep offenders away from areas where they are most likely to commit crime
