Why you may get a community sentence
A court looks at several things when deciding what sentence to give. The most important is how serious the crime was.

A community sentence will be considered if:

•the court thinks you’re more likely to stop committing crime if you have a community sentence than if you go to prison
•it’s the first time you have committed a crime
•you have a mental health condition, or an addiction (for example, to drugs) that affects your behaviour Types of community sentence
You could be ordered to do any of the following as part of a community sentence. They are called ‘requirements’.

Community Payback - unpaid work
You may be ordered to do unpaid work like removing graffiti and clearing overgrown pathways. See ‘Doing Community Payback’ to find out more.

Doing Community PaybackJob and educational training
Training courses can improve skills like reading and writing. Other courses can help with applying for jobs and learning new skills.

See ‘Treatment and training programmes on a community sentence’ to find out more.

Treatment and training programmes on a community sentenceTreatment programmes
You may have to complete a treatment programme – for example, to deal with drug or alcohol misuse, or a mental health condition.

See ‘Treatment and training programmes on a community sentence’ to find out more.

Treatment and training programmes on a community sentenceRestrictions - what you can and can’t do
You may be restricted in what you can do. For example, having to follow a ‘curfew’ (having to stay at a particular place at certain times) or being electronically monitored (also called ‘tagged’).

See ‘What you can and can't do when on a community sentence’ to find out more.

What you can and can't do when on a community sentenceSupervision while on a community sentence
You might also be given a ‘supervision requirement’. For example, you may be ordered to have regular meetings with an offender manager.

The offender manager helps you complete your sentence and get away from crime.

See ‘Offender managers - how they can support you’ to find out more.

Offender managers - how they can support youIf you break the terms of your community sentence
If you break the terms of your community sentence, for example, by not meeting with your offender manager, you could be sent back to court. You could be given more punishment and even be sent to prison.

What happens if you break the terms of your probationCommunity sentences - how long they last
Community sentences vary in length depending on how serious the crime is. The judge (or magistrate) will decide at the court hearing.

For example, if you are sentenced to do Community Payback, you can expect to complete anything from 40 to 300 hours of unpaid community work.

If you’re sentenced to be on a curfew, it could last for up to six months.

A period of supervision with an offender manager can last for up to three years.

See ‘How court sentences are worked out’ for more information on how a court reaches a decision.

How court sentences are worked out


Десяти молодым людям в возрасте 15-17 лет было разрешено отбывать срок наказания вне тюрьмы, чтобы принять участие в данном пилотном проекте.
«Целью этого совместного проекта было усовершенствовать и укрепить возможно-сти и знания местных органов власти и некоммерческих организаций в сфере работы с несовершеннолетними правонарушителями и улучшения и гарантирования прав ма-лолетних и несовершеннолетних правонарушителей», - говорит Кристине Вадскер из организации DanChurchAid.
Благодаря передаче знаний и опыта северных стран проект принес видимые плоды. Так, двое участвующих в проекте подростков нашли работу, а восемь решили получить образование. Лишь двое вернулись к прежнему образу жизни и снова отправились в