7. The Hearing and Decision

Permissible date of hearing

A hearing for an application:

• may be held after the period during which the hours should have been completed, but
• may not be held after the sentence has been cancelled or been deemed to be cancelled.

Note: The application must be laid before the period during which the hours must have been completed has passed.

On-strength information

Up-to-date information must be provided to the CPPS probation officer prosecuting the case. This information should be provided as on-strength information, and must be as up to date as possible.

This information should be provided at least one working day before the hearing.

Application may lapse

If, between the laying of the application and the hearing, the sentence is cancelled through any other means, the application lapses.

Participation in hearing

For court hearings, a probation officer (court officer) and offender both participate in the hearing. The supervising probation officer/senior community work supervisor does not need to attend the hearing unless the application is being defended and they are required as a witness.

Reference: Volume 1, part III Court Servicing for information on the hearing, and what happens if the offender wishes to defend the application. ( please refer to the related links section on this page)

Sponsor’s participation

In the case of an enforcement application which involves a programme provider (e.g. basic work & living skills (BWLS)) or agency sponsor, the provider/sponsor cannot be required to give evidence in the application hearing. The provider/sponsor should be advised of this.

The provider/sponsor may not be asked to give evidence, however may do so if they wish.

Considering a substitution of sentence

If the court is considering a substitute sentence of home detention (HD) or community detention (CD), they may remand the matter to enable CPPS to canvass these options.

Note: If this outcome has been canvassed with the offender and the appropriate information provided to the court for the hearing, the court may be able to determine the outcome on the same day.

After the hearing

Once the hearing is completed, the court makes their decision and notifies the applicant accordingly. The probation officer must then:

• update IOMS records (case notes and application management tab), and
• confirm to the offender in writing the effect that the court decision has on the requirements of their sentence.

Tasks following the decision

The following table shows the tasks to be completed when the court has determined their decision on the application.

Note: In all cases, record the decision in IOMS casenotes.

When the decision takes effect

If the court grants the application, the decision takes effect:

• on the date specified by the court, or
• (if no date was specified) the date the court determines the decision.