Service Users: Your Questions Answered

Probation is 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; adhere to the conditions of the order and to follow the directions of a supervising Probation Officer, who will monitor and help them to stay out of further trouble. Probation Orders and Community Service orders are managed by the Probation Service.

PRE-SANCTION REPORT (PSR) : These are also known as ‘probation reports’, and they assess suitability for a community sanction and identify issues relevant to reducing reoffending. Building on the findings of structured risk assessment, probation reports outline the underlying factors in the offending behaviour, the offender’s attitude to the crime and motivation to change, and action to be taken to help prevent further offending.

COMMUNITY SERVICE REPORT (CSR) : These reports assess suitability of an offender to do unpaid work in the community instead of going to prison.

Instead of a prison sentence, convicted offenders over 16 years of age may, instead, be given the opportunity by the Court to perform unpaid work for the community. The legislation for Community Service Orders allows a Judge to sentence an offender to between 40 and 240 hours work. Any Order made must be completed within a year. Community Service is a direct alternative to a prison sentence and an Order will only be made by the Judge where a custodial sentence has first been considered.

The Community Return Programme is an incentivised scheme introduced in line with the recommendations of the Thornton Hall Project Review Group which provides for earned temporary release under which offenders who are assessed by the Irish Prison Service are offered early temporary release in return for supervised community service. Officers of the Probation Service assess offenders as to suitability and motivation to complete the community work.

The scheme is applicable to suitably assessed prisoners who are serving sentences of more than one and less than eight years. Those participating are granted renewable temporary release having served at, or after, the 50% stage of their sentence with a condition of their release to undertake community service supervised by the Probation Service.

Supervision during deferment of penalty is a judicial practice whereby the Court does not proceed to determine the appropriate penalty but instead postpones the decision to a further date, on condition that the offender complies with to the supervision of a Probation Officer and avoids reoffending.

Under the Sex Offenders Act, 2001, Judges can sentence sex offenders to a period of probation supervision following their release from prison. Such offenders are monitored closely. During supervision, 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, identify risk factors and develop strategies and supports to ensure there is no repeat offending.

Judges can deal with a case by way of a suspended or part-suspended sentence with conditions of probation supervision. This means the Judge may:

• issue a prison sentence of a number of months or years; and
• 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 for which the custodial sentence is suspended.

The Probation Service supervises some prisoners on temporary release from custody (as provided for in the Criminal Justice Act, 1960 and the Criminal Justice (Temporary Release of Prisoners) Act, 2003) in the community with specific conditions aimed at helping with their re-integration in the community and to avoid further offending. Life sentence prisoners on release in the community are obliged to co-operate and comply with Probation Service supervision as a condition of temporary release. Such prisoners, in the normal course, remain subject to supervision for the remainder of their lives.

This is a plan of the work you will do with your Probation Officer. The overall aim of your plan will be to reduce your risk of offending again and ensure that you and others remain safe in the community. To do this you will be will encouraged to think about the things in your life that might lead you to re-offend and your Probation officer will work with you to identify ways to help you stay out of trouble.

District Courts can make these order for up to three years – but higher Courts can order longer periods.

If the person does not comply with the requirements of the order the Probation Officer may return the case to Court - and that could result in the person being given an alternative sanction which could include prison.

If someone makes good progress while under supervision, the Probation Officer may consider applying to the Court to have the order discharged early.