Supervision of Sentences
Community sentences are supervised by the Probation Board for Northern Ireland. Anyone being supervised is referred to as a Service User and will have a Probation Officer assigned to them to supervise them during their sentence.
Depending on the sentence other Probation staff will also be involved including:
- Probation Service Officers
- Community Service Supervisors
- Probation Psychologists
Sentences may include conditions such as Community Service, taking part in Programmes, areas they are excluded from and, where appropriate, that they must live at an Approved address. Read more about Probation Programmes designed to change challenge the attitudes and behaviours of Service Users.
The Probation Officer monitors the Service User throughout their sentence and constantly considers the behaviour and attitude of the Service User to assess the risk of any re-offending.
If a Probation Officer considers the Service User to have broken any of the conditions of the sentence, they can refer the Service User back to Court for re-sentencing, which can include a custodial sentence.
Some sentences are supervised in partnership with other Justice partners through the Public Protection Arrangements.
Below is a list of the sentences supervised by Probation.
Combination Order
This is a sentence that combines a Probation Order and a Community Service Order. The period of Probation supervision can last from 1 to 3 years. The Community Service part of the Order can range from 40 to 100 hours. Read the Combination Order leaflet to find out more.
Enhanced Combination Order
Enhanced Combination Orders are like Combination Orders with a greater focus on rehabilitation, reparation, mental health, restorative practice and desistance. They are an option in a number of Court areas as an alternative for Judges to use where the normal custodial sentence would be less than 12 months. Read more about Enhanced Combination Orders.
Community Service Order
This sentence requires an offender to do unpaid work in the community. It may be given to someone 16 or over if the offender consents, and lasts between 40 hours and 240 hours. Read the Community Service Order leaflet to find out more.
Anyone sentenced to a Community Service Order, a Combination Order or an Enhanced Combination Order will do a certain number of hours of unpaid work. Anyone can also suggest a possible Community Service project to be carried out. Read more about Community Service projects and placements and how to suggest a project.
Custody Probation Order
This sentence requires an offender to serve a period of imprisonment followed by a period of supervision in the community (the period of supervision will be 1 to 3 years commencing on date of release), and is unique to Northern Ireland. This order cannot be made unless the offender consents.
Determinate Custodial Sentence
This sentence requires an offender to serve a period of imprisonment followed by a period of supervision in the community. The court will specify the length of both custody and community supervision at sentencing.
Extended Custodial Sentence
This sentence may be given at court if the offender has been convicted of a specified or serious offence. The court must be of the opinion that there is a significant risk that the offender will re-offend and that such re-offending is likely to cause serious harm to members of the public. The court will specify the maximum length of custody and length of time to be served on licence into the community.
Indeterminate Custodial Sentence
This sentence may be given at court if the offender has been convicted of a specified or serious offence, where a life sentence is not appropriate but an Extended Custodial Sentence is not sufficient. The court must be of the opinion that there is a significant risk that the offender will re-offend and that such re-offending is likely to cause serious harm to members of the public. The court will specify the maximum length of custody that an offender must serve before being released on licence into the community.
Juvenile Justice Centre Order
This sentence requires a young offender (aged between 10 and 17 years) to spend time, normally three months, in a Juvenile Justice Centre and then be supervised in the community by a probation officer (or designated Youth Justice Officer) normally for three months.
Life Sentence Licence
This means an offender serving a life sentence will be released from custody on licence. An individual must comply with the conditions of his licence in order to remain in the community and not be returned to custody.
Probation Order
This sentence can last between 6 months and 3 years, and puts the offender under the supervision of a Probation Officer for that period. The order may have extra requirements. Offender consent is required.
Sex Offender Licence
Article 26 of the Criminal Justice (Northern Ireland) Order 1996 makes provision for offenders sentenced for a sexual offence to be released on licence under the supervision of a Probation Officer.
Supervision and Treatment Orders
This sentence requires the offender to be under the supervision of a social worker or probation officer for a period specified in the order and of not more than 2 years; and to submit, during the whole of that period or such part of it as may be specified in the order, to treatment by or under the direction of a medical practitioner with a view to the improvement of his/her mental condition.