Community sentences are a tough punishment that can restrict an offender's freedom, reform their behaviour and ensure that they pay back the community for their crimes. However they may also allow an offender to keep their job or college place, their family ties and their home. All of these may be crucial factors in preventing re-offending.

Community sentences may be appropriate for serious offences but not so serious as to warrant a prison sentence.  These may include shoplifting, burglary, criminal damage, drink driving and some assaults or domestic violence.  Very serious offences such as manslaughter or rape are not usually suitable for community sentences unless there are substantial mitigating factors.

There are two main types of community sentence:

• Community order
• Suspended sentence

Community order

The court will determine the length of the community order. The order can last for a maximum of three years.  To the community order, the sentencers can add additional requirements with which the offender must comply.

There are twelve requirements that can be added to the order:

• Community Payback
• Supervision
• Activity (eg education or training)
• Prohibited activity (something the offender is not allowed to do)
• Exclusion (an area where they are not allowed to go)
• Curfew
• An offender behaviour programme
• Attendance centre (for young offenders only)
• Drug rehabilitation (this must have the offender's consent)
• Mental health treatment (this must have the offender's consent)
• Alcohol treatment (this must have the offender's consent)
• Residence (offender must live in a specified place)

Supervision forms part of the community order in the vast majority of cases. For cases of low seriousness the order will usually contain just one requirement. For more serious cases the order could contain three or four.

Managing sentences

Once an offender is sentenced to a community order they will be assigned to an offender manager. More serious offenders will be assigned to an offender manager who is a qualified Probation Officer. Offenders that are judged to pose a lower risk may be managed by a Probation Service Officer.

The offender will meet regularly with their offender manager. The offender manager will produce a supervision plan for the sentence. They will co-ordinate any other requirements that are part of the order. These additional requirements may be supervised by other colleagues within the probation service or by a contracted partner eg drug treatment or electronic tagging.

The offender manager ensure that the offender attends all appointments and fulfils all the requirements. If the offender fails to attend for good reason or to comply with the order, they may be returned to court.

Suspended sentence

This can also be considered as a custodial sentence. This is generally ordered for offences that the court considers 'so serious' that only prison is appropriate. The offender can be sentenced to custody for between 28-51 weeks. However this can then be suspended for a period of between 6-24 months. The offender is then supervised by the probation service and can receive requirements as per the community order.

If the offender re-offend or breaches the order they can go straight to prison.