The criminal justice system – Non-custodial sentencing
Pupil task
Your teacher will provide you with a factsheet about one of the following:





Community payback orders
Probation orders
Restriction of liberty orders (tagging)
Supervised attendance orders
Drug treatment and testing orders (DTTOs)
Your task is to research a recent example of the use of one of these alternatives to prison. Your
example must:



Detail the name of the alternative used
Explain the nature of the crime committed
Analyse whether your group considers this alternative to prison to be an effective deterrent
to criminal behaviour
Note to teachers: The fact files follow below
Community Payback Orders
The Community Payback Order came into force in Scotland on 1 February 2011, replacing the
formerly separate punishments of Community Service Orders, Probation Orders and Supervised
Attendance Orders. Other community-based court orders include the Drug Treatment and Testing
Order and electronic tagging.
The Community Payback Order consists of a number of requirements. From these, the court may
select one or more in deciding on the make up of the order. These can be matched to each offender
based on the nature of their crime and the reasons that they committed the crime which may need
to be addressed in order to stop them re-offending in the future.
For example, the order might include a requirement to carry out hours of unpaid work in the
community with benefits for the community, completion of intensive supervision, alcohol, drug or
behavioural programmes.
Clearing pathways of snow and ice, building eco-plant areas for school children, repainting
community centres or churches, cleaning up beaches, growing vegetables and distributing the
produce to care homes and local charities, are just a few of the unpaid work activities being carried
out by offenders in communities across Scotland.
If an offender fails to comply with the terms and conditions of a Community Payback Order this can
result in a "breach" of the order and the offender being returned to court. If the breach is proved,
the court can impose a range of penalties including imposing a custodial sentence.
Probation Orders (part of Community Payback Orders)
A Probation Order aims to encourage the offender to not reoffend by giving a combination of
support and control to reduce the risk of re-offending.
All orders have a work plan that require the offenders to work with the Supervising Officer to
address the attitudes and underlying causes related to their offending behaviour. An order can be
made for a minimum of six months up to a maximum of three years.
A Probation Order allows the court to impose a wide range of conditions and requirement which the
offender has to do. These can include:

Carrying out a specified number of hours of unpaid work.

Attendance at a range of specialist programmes geared to making the offender address their
offending behaviour

Alcohol/drugs related counselling and services

Residence at a specified address

Curfew and/or electronic monitoring (Electronic Tagging)

Payment of compensation to victims
Restriction of Liberty Orders or ‘Tagging’ (Part of Community Payback Orders)
Electronic monitoring (tagging) equipment can be used to monitor offenders' compliance with the
terms of their Order, for example staying away from a certain area.
Restriction of Liberty Orders have been available in Scotland since May 2002.
A Restriction of Liberty Order requires an offender to be:

restricted to a specific place for a maximum period of 12 hours per day for up to a
maximum of 12 months;

and/or restricted from a specified place or places for 24 hours a day for up to 12 months.
Restriction of Liberty Orders are a high tariff community sentence imposed by the court as an option
in cases where they might otherwise be thinking of a prison sentence or another community penalty
that would impose substantial demands on the offender.
Restriction of Liberty Orders are both punishment and rehabilitation and they provide a useful
addition to the range of sentencing options already available to the courts.
Supervised Attendance Orders (part of Community Payback Orders)
A Supervised Attendance Order (SAO) is an order which the court can impose as an alternative to
custody for people who have defaulted on fines imposed for minor criminal offences. The aim of the
order is to provide the court with a cost effective penalty which in effect imposes a 'fine on time'.
An SAO can be made for a period of between 10-100 hours. The order requires the offender to carry
out a range of supervised constructive activities. These activities can range from basic practical life
skills such as debt/money management to undertaking unpaid work in the community.
Since September 2007, all Scottish courts have to impose an SAO rather than custody for failure to
pay fines of £500 or less. This measure was introduced following the positive evaluation of two pilot
projects based in Ayr Sheriff Court and Glasgow District Court. The aim is to reduce the number of
offenders being sent to prison for low level fine default and, therefore, to discourage the idea of
prison as a ‘college of crime’.
Drug Treatment and Testing Orders (usually referred to as DTTOs)
DTTOs are a sentence available for drug-misusing offenders who might otherwise receive a custodial
sentence.
The intention is to target those people whose offending is a direct result of their drug-misuse, i.e.
addicts who steal to fund their habit. In tackling the drug problem, DTTOs can steer offenders away
from crime. Serious drug dealers continue to receive prison sentences.
In October 2002, the findings of the Glasgow and Fife DTTO pilots were published. The research
demonstrated that within the first few months of an order being made, offenders showed a
significant reduction in levels of spend on drugs and associated criminal behaviour. Specifically, after
six months on an order, expenditure on drugs decreased from an average of £490 per week presentence to an average of £57 per week afterwards. This suggests DTTOs are working.
A subsequent independent study of reconviction rates for DTTO offenders, published in October
2004, added to the positive picture. This research indicated that DTTOs were having a real impact on
re-offending levels, with almost half (48%) of those who completed their orders having no further
convictions within two years. Another key finding was that the majority of those who did have
subsequent reconvictions were convicted of relatively minor offences.
Drug Courts
Drug Courts operate in Glasgow and Fife. They are aimed at those with complex and deeply
entrenched drug problems to help them recover from addiction and rebuild their lives.
Specialist sheriffs, multi-agency working and effective case management are key characteristics of
the drug court. Evidence shows that a sizeable proportion of drug court clients were to achieve and
sustain reductions in drug use and associated offending.