Supervision is a sentence that requires the offender to comply with a range of standard conditions and special conditions imposed by the court. It is targeted at offenders convicted of low level offences, with relatively straightforward rehabilitative needs and a lower risk of re-offending.
Supervision can be imposed jointly with:
These combinations enable the courts to impose sentences that require the offender to make reparation and/or be punished, as well as providing for them to address some rehabilitative needs.
It is anticipated that approximately two thirds of offenders currently sentenced to supervision (prior to October 2007), will be sentenced to supervision under the new legislation (with one third being sentenced to intensive supervision). It is estimated that, on average, supervision sentences will be for approximately nine months.
International evidence indicates that high levels of intervention with offenders at low risk of re-offending can increase their risk of re-offending (the contamination effect). The supervision sentence has therefore been designed to minimise the contact between the offender and the Department of Corrections, beyond that required to ensure that the offender complies with the conditions of their sentence. On average, probation officers will spend approximately 18 hours managing a sentence of supervision.
If post-sentencing assessment of an offender indicates that they have complex and/or multiple needs that cannot be addressed within the supervision sentence, the probation officer may apply to the court for the offender to be re-sentenced to intensive supervision.
Offenders are sentenced to supervision after the judge has considered a short pre-sentence report. A short pre-sentence report is, as far as possible, completed on the day it is requested. It involves a very short interview with the offender (maximum 45 minutes) and limited exploration of issues.
In a short pre-sentence report, the probation officer outlines key factors relating to the offender including their:
Note: A simple sentence of supervision is one that only requires the offender to attend a single common community-based programme, for example a stopping domestic violence programme, or community-based AOD counselling.
In a short pre-sentence report, the probation officer will recommend both the type and length of the sentence(s) to be imposed. The report will also include details of special conditions to be used if the court decides to impose the recommended sentence(s).
During the preparation of a short pre-sentence report, if the probation officer identifies needs that appear to be more severe and/or complex than can be dealt with in a short pre-sentence report and/or a simple sentence of supervision, the court will be asked to approve a remand period in order that a full report can be completed. This will include cases where initial assessment indicates that the offender may be eligible for an intensive programme only available on a sentence of intensive supervision (such as a residential programme, a child sex offending programme, or a rehabilitation programme delivered by departmental facilitators).
Until the sentence is fully planned and the offender is familiar with all requirements, the offender will be required to report to a probation officer (at the relevant service centre) The table below shows the frequency of regular reporting of each phase for each offender managment regime:
| Cateorgory of managment regimes | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phase | Low risk offenders (RoC*RoI below 0.3 or ASRS score of 0) |
Medium/high risk offenders |
OWR Offenders | ||||||||
| I | Fortnightly | Weekly | Weekly | ||||||||
| II | Fortnightly in second month, then monthly thereafter | Fortnightly | Weekly | ||||||||
| III | Monthly | Monthly | Fortnightly | ||||||||
If the offender complies with all the requirements of phases I and II, they may progress to phase III. In this phase the offender is required to report at least every month.
Throughout their sentence, the offender will also be required to comply with any other special conditions requiring attendance at a particular place and time, for example programmes or counselling.
A probation officer will issue the offender with an ITR for each occasion on which reporting (to the probation officer or to a programme) is required. This ITR will specify the time and location of the report. Non-compliance with any ITR is a breach of the offender’s conditions, and may result in enforcement action being taken against them.
Probation officers work with offenders on supervision to identify re-integrative needs (such as lack of adequate housing, employment or financial issues) and to facilitate access to relevant services. Probation officers can also help to link offenders with their culture, for example by:
The establishment of the routine required to report regularly and to remain at a known address can have a significant impact on the otherwise chaotic and transient lifestyle of an offender. For others, particularly those at relatively low risk of re-offending, the oversight of a probation officer may be sufficient to prevent further offending.
Offenders on supervision sentences may have a special condition to attend a community-based rehabilitation programme. The most common are:
The offender’s probation officer is responsible for ensuring that the offender is referred to any programme imposed as a special condition. Once the offender has been accepted onto a specific programme, a probation officer will issue an ITR for each session the offender is to attend.
If the programme is not available for any reason, a probation officer will refer their case back to the court for further consideration.
The probation officer is also responsible for establishing mechanisms to monitor compliance with these and any other special conditions (such as a non-association order, or a requirement to live at a particular address). This can include:
Failure to comply with any special condition is a breach of the offender’s conditions, and may result in enforcement action being taken against them.
If the offender’s circumstances change, it is essential that they advise their probation officer immediately. The probation officer will be able to advise the offender of the appropriate course of action to take.
If the offender does not obtain the approval of the probation officer prior to making changes (e.g. moving to a different area, or accepting employment considered to be unsuitable) the offender will be considered to have failed to comply with their sentence and enforcement action will be considered.
If an offender fails to comply with one or more requirements of the sentence, without good reason, enforcement action will be taken against them. A wide range of enforcement action is available and applied for instances of non-compliance.
Lower level infringements are dealt with by internal sanctions such as returning the offender to an earlier phase of the sentence, with an associated increase in reporting requirements.
More serious instances of non-compliance are dealt with by means of an application to the court. According to the severity of the non-compliance this could involve an application to:
If a probation officer charges the offender with a breach of their conditions, they will also recommend a preferred penalty. This penalty will vary, according to the severity of the breach. At the lowest level the probation officer may seek only to have the offender convicted and discharged, whereas at the most severe level a sentence of imprisonment may be recommended.
Most breach applications are expected to result in the offender being sentenced to CW or CD, with the sentence to be served concurrently with the supervision sentence.
If the probation officer makes an application to cancel the sentence of supervision and substitute it with an alternative sentence, the recommended sentence will be from a higher tier of the hierarchy. It is expected that most applications will result in the offender being sentenced to intensive supervision or HD.
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