Community Work

Community Work is a community-based sentence which requires offenders to do unpaid work in the community. The aim of Community Work is for offenders to pay something back to the community for the offence they have committed. It also gives offenders an opportunity to take responsibility for their offending and learn new skills and work habits.

People sentenced to Community Work will report to a Probation Officer at a Community Probation Service centre. In order to establish how the offender will complete their sentence the Probation Officer will take into account the offence that the person has committed, their personal circumstances, and their needs and skills.

Types of Community Work
Community Work can be work in a group supervised by the Community Probation Service, or it can be on an individual basis through placement at an agency. The law specifies an agency for Community Work purposes. Suitable projects for supervised groups include those sponsored by local councils, government agencies, voluntary organisations, marae organisations, sports groups and other community groups.

If the work is completed for an agency, it will be supervised by someone from that agency. Probation Officers will check with the agency that the offender has completed the right number of hours and completed the work to the required standard. The offender may do both group work with the Community Probation Service and individual work with an agency during their sentence.

Offenders can be required to do between 40 and 400 hours of Community Work. The number of hours will be determined by the judge in court. If offenders have more than 200 hours to complete, these need to be completed within two years. Sentences of 200 hours or less need to be completed within one year. Offenders will be encouraged to complete their hours as quickly as possible.

Offenders can work up to 10 hours a day, or up to 40 hours in any one week. While completing these hours, offenders will normally be able to continue with their regular jobs.

Some offenders may also be given a sentence of Supervision as well as Community Work. In these cases, as well as doing work in the community, offenders may have to regularly report to a Probation Officer and attend programmes which aim to address their offending needs.

Supervised work
Offenders who do group work with the Community Probation Service are supervised. The Work Party Supervisor will organise work projects, supervise work groups at project sites, check that work standards are being met and take any disciplinary action that may be necessary.

Community Work on a marae
Community Work can be carried out on a marae, both as individual placements and in supervised groups. Community Work on a marae offers good projects for offenders and it also presents an opportunity for Maori offenders to increase their cultural knowledge and in some cases, re-establish contact with their iwi. Before the work can be approved, there is a requirement that it is not work an offender would normally carry out as a member of that marae. Probation Officers monitor these projects in the same way as other Community Work projects.

Enforcement of requirements
If offenders on Community Work do not meet the requirements of their sentence, the Probation Officer will take the offender back to court. If the offender is convicted for breaching or not meeting the requirements, the court may impose up to three months imprisonment or a $1000 fine.

The Community Probation Service provides the court with information to assist judges with their sentencing decisions and manages people who are on community-based sentences and orders. Community-based sentences and orders include: Supervision, Community Work, Home Detention, Release from prison on conditions and Parole. Offenders on community-based sentences and orders have to meet the requirements of their sentence and may have to attend rehabilitative programmes which address their offending needs.