Oral Reports and On-strength Information

This topic contains background information on oral reports and the reporting of on-strength information.

Oral reports

An oral report includes any information in relation to an offender, given by a probation officer to a judge in the sentencing process, which is not recorded as a:

• short pre-sentence report
• full pre-sentence report, or
• reparation report.

The purpose of the oral report is to provide rapid additional information to the court to enable:

• same day sentencing
• decision to remand for a further report
• decision to make in relation to bail applications, or
• decision at an urgent hearing.

The oral report will:

• advise the court on risk and sentence suitability
• address issues of cumulative or concurrent sentences, and
• advise the court about sentence compliance.

It may recommend:

• a specific sentence(s)
• further remand, and/or
• that another type of pre-sentence report be provided.

Types of oral reports

Oral reports may include the following:

• verbal information
• on-strength information provided to the court
• information provided on recently terminated sentences
• copies of recent reports and letters that may accompany them
• memos to the court, and
• any information specifically requested by the judge.

On-strength information

On-strength information is information relating to a sentence or sentences that an offender is subject to. It canvasses compliance issues and can provide the probation officer in court with:

• personal circumstances of an offender, or
• direction regarding an outcome or sentence.

Note: On-strength information is usually provided by the supervising probation officer. If there are joint/multiple sentences, on-strength information should summarise the offender's response to all sentences.

Supplying on-strength information

When an offender, who is on-strength, is facing charges in court, information relating to their current sentence is supplied to the CPPS court servicing team.

Relevant information should be entered in IOMS in the form of an on-strength report and should be no more than a few paragraphs.

The report is usually written by the offender's supervising probation officer and needs to be available to the court fronting officer on the day the offender appears in court.

Note: Probation officers should make regular checks to see if any offenders they have on-strength have active charges.