We work to improve the use and effectiveness of community sentences
We want to see the increased use of smarter community sentences, utilising the best evidenced-based practice across the UK.
Smarter community sentences are a vital part of a justice system in which crime is proportionately punished, the harms it has caused are repaired and the underlying factors that lead to offending are addressed. Smarter community sentences mean giving probation practitioners the powers, the freedom and the flexibility to do their jobs. Smarter community sentences mean ensuring victims and communities who suffer from crime have more of a voice in directing where reparation is done. Smarter community sentences means leveraging the full resources of the Government, from the police, the courts, through to drug treatment and employment services and others to work with probation to deliver punishment and to give people on community sentences the chance to turn around their lives.
This report summarises the evidence on the impact of unpaid work, identifies good practice and seeks to understand challenges in its delivery, so it can be as purposeful and as effective as possible.
This briefing makes the case for an ambitious plan to expand the Community Sentence Treatment Requirements programme, outlined in the Government Sentencing White Paper.
