Community sentences not fit for purpose without reform, magistrates say

The government’s planned criminal justice reforms will fail without proper investment in community sentences, the Magistrates' Association has said.

In a position statement, the organisation makes 14 recommendations for reform which it says will help restore confidence in community sentencing. The statement calls for a ‘renewed national focus on community sentencing’ built on credibility, transparency and local coherence.

While the association welcomed the government’s intention to strengthen community sentencing, it said it ‘remains concerned that its success will depend entirely on delivery, resourcing and clarity’.

The 14 recommendations include: to ‘fully’ fund and rebuild probation capacity, so that community orders can start promptly and be monitored effectively; accessible real-time data on programme availability, completion and breach rates for magistrates; ensuring community sentences include both punitive elements and rehabilitative support; and clarifying judicial discretion over short custodial sentences.

Other recommendations include ‘rapid’ evaluation of all new sentencing pilots and a guarantee of consistent national provision.

The statement also includes ‘key asks’ of the Sentencing Act, including clarifying exceptions through updated Sentencing Council guidance; and providing magistrates with ‘detailed, standardised’ information on all probation and unpaid work requirements.

David Ford, national chair of the Magistrates' Association, said members had reported that the availability, quality and use of community sentence orders was ‘patchy’. He added: ‘Members also tell us that the lack of trained probation staff means that offenders sometimes wait for months for their unpaid work or treatment requirements to start.

‘Fewer community options means fewer choices for magistrates, leading to courts imposing fines when community options aren’t available – fines which in some cases are uncollectable because the offender has no income, creating debt without rehabilitation. In rare cases, the lack of a community option can lead to sentencers having no other option but to send someone to prison because there is no non-custodial alternative.

‘Our proposals, if implemented, will make community sentences work far better for communities, support offenders, and help restore public confidence. Reform won’t be cheap and won’t be complete by Christmas, but if the government wants its ambitious justice reform programme to succeed, it must invest more time, money and resources into transforming community sentencing for the better.’