The supervision of community orders in England and Wales

The supervision of community orders in England and Wales
Author: Great Britain: National Audit Office
Publisher: The Stationery Office
Total Pages: 76
Release: 2008-01-31
Genre: Law
ISBN: 9780102951783
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The Criminal Justice Act 2003 introduced a new style of community sentence known as a community order. For offences committee after 1 April 2005, magistrates and judges have been able to tailor communty sentences to the severity of the offence and, at the same time address offending behaviour. The most common order contains a single requirement obliging the offender to complete specified number of unpaid work hours. The National Probation Service supervises all offenders subject to such orders, plus those released from prison on licence or given other sentences to be served in the community. This report examines how well they have been implemented and whether they are meeting sentencing objectives. It is felt the National Probation Service could improve efficiency by increasing the consistency with which community orders are implemented within local Probation Areas. Better data on capacity, costs and the number of orders completed as sentenced would help the Service demonstrate value for money. The report makes several recommendations to this end.

The Supervision of Community Orders in England and Wales

The Supervision of Community Orders in England and Wales
Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Committee of Public Accounts
Publisher: The Stationery Office
Total Pages: 40
Release: 2008-11-04
Genre: Law
ISBN: 9780215524294
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Since their introduction under the Criminal Justice Act 2003, community orders have offered courts the ability to impose a range of 12 possible 'requirements', including accredited programmes (such as anger management courses or alcohol and drug rehabilitation), unpaid work in the community and supervision by the National Probation Service. There is little information available nationally on the effectiveness of community orders. On the key measure of reconviction, figures from the Ministry of Justice showed that for those sentenced to community orders, their actual reconviction rate was significantly lower than those sentenced to custodial sentences for similar offences. There is, though, no basic information such as national data on whether offenders have completed their community orders, nor on why offenders have failed to complete them. The National Probation Service has set national standards but these are applied inconsistently. The Ministry's current method of funding Probation Areas is unsatisfactory and slow to respond to changes in demand from the courts and it is felt that there is a need for a more flexible system. On the basis of a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, the Committee examined the Ministry of Justice on increasing effectiveness of community orders; building the confidence of both the court and the community in community orders; improving the funding formula; and tightening adherence to the requirements of orders.

The Community Order and the Suspended Sentence Order Three Years on

The Community Order and the Suspended Sentence Order Three Years on
Author: George Mair
Publisher:
Total Pages: 60
Release: 2009
Genre: Alternatives to imprisonment
ISBN:
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This report assesses the impact of the Community Order and Suspended Sentence Order three years on from their implementation in April 2005 in England and Wales. Its findings are based on analysis of government data about the use of the two orders and interviews with probation staff and those subject to the orders.

Towards Effective Sentencing

Towards Effective Sentencing
Author: Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Justice Committee
Publisher: The Stationery Office
Total Pages: 108
Release: 2008
Genre: Law
ISBN: 9780215522009
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This report evaluates the extent to which the provision s of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 to provide overall structure and clarity to sentencing, by reserving prison for the most dangerous offenders and by making effective provision to deal with other offenders through community sentence, have been implemented, and its impact on sentencing. The Committee is concerned that the Government failed to engage in any adequate resource and capacity planning for the coming into effect of the Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP). This new sentence was not accompanied by the level of custodial resources required to make it work. Meanwhile, the desired shift to community penalties where public safety is not at issue has not occurred to the extent that was hoped. Resources are a fundamental issue in delivering an effective sentencing strategy. So too is public confidence in the criminal justice system. The Government has failed to provide the information and leadership required to facilitate an informed public debate, while the media climate for such debate often depends on isolated discussion of particular cases which inhibits calm consideration. While the Government accepted the recommendations of Lord Carter's review of prisons, the Committee found his report deeply unimpressive, as it was not evidence based and was a missed opportunity. It should have considered how to develop new ideas to address the problems with sentencing and provision of custodial and non-custodial facilities in England and Wales. The Government has not learnt vital lessons from past experience. It needs to adopt a strategic approach to sentencing. The Committee make a series of detailed recommendations around these issues in order to make further progress towards effective sentencing.

Dictionary of Youth Justice

Dictionary of Youth Justice
Author: Barry Goldson
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 644
Release: 2013-06-17
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1134011067
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This Dictionary explicitly addresses the historical, legal, theoretical, organisational, policy, practice, research and evidential contexts within which 'modern' youth justice in the UK and beyond is located. The entries cover a spectrum of theoretical orientations and conceptual perspectives and engage explicitly with the key statutory provisions and policy and practice imperatives within each of the three UK jurisdictions. This book is a key resource for those teaching and studying under-graduate and post-graduate courses in criminology, criminal justice, sociology, social policy, law, socio-legal studies, community justice, social work, youth and community work and police studies, together with policy-makers, managers and practitioners working within the youth justice sphere (including staff training officers, youth justice officers, social workers, probation officers, police officers, teachers and education workers, health professionals, youth workers, drug and alcohol workers and juvenile secure estate staff). The Dictionary of Youth Justice: is designed to meet the needs of researchers, policy-makers, managers, practitioners and students; begins with an introductory chapter that maps the key shifts in contemporary national and international youth justice systems; contains over 300 alphabetically arranged entries - written by almost 100 experts in the respective fields - that explicitly address the core components of youth justice in England and Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland; Provides specifically tailored recommended key texts and sources in respect of each entry; is closely cross-referenced and contains a detailed index to assist readers to make connections between and across entries; includes a detailed 'Directory of Agencies' that relate to youth justice in each of the three UK jurisdictions; is compiled and edited by one of the UK's leading authorities in youth justice.

The Penal Landscape

The Penal Landscape
Author: Anita Dockley
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 241
Release: 2013-07-18
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1135919852
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The Howard League for Penal Reform is committed to developing an effective penal system which ensures there are fewer victims of crime, has a diminished role for prison and creates a safer community for all. In this collection of ten papers, the charity has brought together some of the most prominent academic experts in the field to map out what is happening in a specific area of criminal justice policy, ranging from prison privatisation to policing and the role of community sentences. The Howard League guide has two main aims: first it seeks to paint a picture of the current state of the penal system, using its structures, processes and the specific groups affected by the system as the lens for analysis. However, each author also seeks to identify the challenges and gaps in understanding that should be considered to predicate a move towards a reduced role for the penal system, and prison in particular, while maintaining public confidence and safer communities. In doing so, we hope to inspire researchers and students alike to develop new research proposals that challenge the status quo and seek to create the Howard League’s vision for the criminal justice system with less crime, safer communities, fewer people in prison.

Cutting Crime

Cutting Crime
Author: Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Justice Committee
Publisher: The Stationery Office
Total Pages: 232
Release: 2010
Genre: Law
ISBN: 9780215543080
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This is the first report from the Justice Committee in the 2009-10 session and examines the subject of: "Cutting crime: the case for justice reinvestment" (HCP 94-I, ISBN 9780215543080). The report calls for a change in the way we tackle criminal justice and seek to cut re-offending. The Committee states that the criminal justice system faces a "crisis of sustainability" if resources continue to be absorbed by an ever-expanding programme of prison building rather than on preventing crimes from being committed, with prison building not being an effective long-term answer to coping with the already record-breaking prison population which is predicted to rise further. The average prison place costs £41,000 a year (plus further capital costs and health and education expenditure on top), with the Government's new prisons costing - on current estimates - up to £4.2 billion over the next 35 years. The Committee believes that a more "prudent, rational, effective and humane" use of resources is needed to shift the focus of expenditure away from incarceration and towards rehabilitation and prevention. This would involve investment in local education, health, drug, alcohol and community programmes in targeted areas based on analyses of where offences occur, where offenders live and "what works" in reducing offending. This is known as "justice reinvestment". Volume 2, contains oral and written evidence (ISBN 9780215543110).

Managing offenders on short custodial sentences

Managing offenders on short custodial sentences
Author: Great Britain: National Audit Office
Publisher: The Stationery Office
Total Pages: 44
Release: 2010-03-10
Genre: Law
ISBN: 9780102963564
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More than 60,000 prisoners serve sentences of under 12 months each year at a cost to National Offender Management Service (NOMS) of around £300 million. These prisoners tend to have more previous convictions than other offenders, with an average of 16 previous convictions each and, as a group, they also have a high level of homelessness, joblessness and drug and alcohol problems. NOMS is successfully keeping the vast majority of short-sentenced prisoners safe and well - a notable achievement in a time of prison overcrowding - but is currently struggling to manage this group effectively, in part because most spend six weeks or less in prison. But the provision of daytime activity for them is generally inadequate to meet HM Inspectorate of Prisons' standards for a healthy prison. The NAO found that one half of short-sentenced prisoners are not involved in work or courses and spend almost all day in their cells. Prisons offer a range of courses and other activities to reduce re-offending; but waiting lists are too long. Prisons often do not match prisoners with appropriate assistance. Only a small proportion of prison budgets is spent on activity intended to reduce re-offending by prisoners on short sentences, despite the fact that 60 per cent of such prisoners are reconvicted within a year of release, at an estimated economic and social cost of £7 billion to £10 billion a year. The NAO argues that NOMS could achieve greater value for money by improving prisons' work with these offenders

Desistance Transitions and the Impact of Probation

Desistance Transitions and the Impact of Probation
Author: Sam King
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 252
Release: 2013-10-01
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1136170901
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Moving away from criminal behaviour can be fraught with difficulties. Often it can involve leaving behind old habits, customs, and even friends, while at the same time adopting a new way of life. How do individuals go about making a decision to give up crime? How do they plan to sustain this decision? And in what ways does probation help? This book explores these questions. Based on in-depth interviews with a group of men under probation supervision, Sam King investigates the factors associated with making a decision to desist from crime. The book examines strategies for desistance, and explores the factors that individuals consider when they are thinking about how they will desist. In doing so, the book sheds new light on existing understandings of desistance from crime and helps to develop our understandings of the role that individuals play in constructing their own desistance journeys. This book also highlights the role of probation in this process, offering a timely and critical review of the nature of probation under the New Labour government in the UK between 1997-2010. The findings indicate that we should allow Probation Officers greater autonomy and discretion within their roles, and that we should free them from the bureaucracy of risk assessment and targets. Moreover, the book warns against the potential fragmentation of community supervision. As such, the book will be of interest to criminology students, researchers, academics, policymakers and practitioners, particularly those who work with ex-offenders in the community.

Understanding Criminal Justice

Understanding Criminal Justice
Author: Azrini Wahidin
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 186
Release: 2013-02-15
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1136185623
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Few subjects provoke as much public fascination and political concern as crime, criminality, criminology, and criminal justice policy and practice. Understanding Criminal Justice seeks to provide students with a critical introduction to the range of theoretical, policy and operational issues faced by the criminal justice system in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland at the beginning of the twenty-first century. It anticipates little or no prior knowledge of criminal justice, and seeks to provide an introduction to the area. This critical textbook provides both a thorough overview of the procedures central to the workings of the criminal justice system and a distillation of the topical debates that surround it. It outlines the political and historical context, detailing key procedures and challenging students to engage with current debates. Containing chapters on policing, prosecution, community justice and alternative modes of justice, this text provides a comprehensive coverage of the key topics included within undergraduate criminology programmes at an introductory level. Written in a lively and accessible style, this book will also be of interest to general readers and practitioners in the criminal justice system.