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Serving a sentence in the community

If you are found guilty of a minor crime you can be given a community sentence. There is a range of community sentences you can get.

You will also serve some of your sentence in the community after you’ve been released from custody.

When you are given a community sentence, the court will set out things that you must or must not do, like:

• you must have regular meetings with a health worker
• you must not visit your local shopping centre in the evenings

These are called the ‘terms’ or ‘requirements’ of your sentence.

What happens if you break the rules

If you break the terms of your community sentence you could be in ‘breach’ of it. You could end up back in court, and if you have recently been released from custody you could be taken back.

Your parents or guardians can sometimes also get into trouble and could end up in court.

So you must understand:

• what the terms of your sentence mean
• what’s expected of you

If anything about the terms of your sentence is unclear, you can ask the youth offending team, who will be supervising you.

• Youth offending teams: what they are

• Community sentences for young people

• How sentences for young people are decided

• What can happen to you if your child gets into trouble with the law (parents section)

Education, training and treatment

Usually, the ‘terms’ or ‘requirements’ of your community sentence will help you with things like learning difficulties or drug use. You could also be made to complete courses or treatment by the court.

This is to help you deal with any problems that may have caused you to get involved with crime, and to stop you committing another crime.

If you need it, you will be given help with:

• health problems, including drugs or alcohol
• education, like help with lessons
• jobs or training, like being taught new skills
• improving your behaviour, like anger management courses
• finding somewhere suitable to live

Support like this is sometimes called ‘rehabilitation’.

Restorative justice and reparation

As part of your community sentence you might be asked to do something to make up for any harm or damage caused by your crime. For instance, helping to clear up a park or clean away graffiti. This is called ‘restorative justice’ or ‘reparation’.

You may also have to speak to the victim and listen to their side of the story. This is to help you understand the consequences your crime has had on other people, not just on yourself.

You will often have to apologise to the victim. This can be in writing or, if the victim wants, face-to-face.

• Help and support for victims of crime

Supervision, monitoring and tagging

You can be monitored and supervised as part of your community sentence. This is to make sure you stick to the terms of your sentence.

Monitoring can happen in many ways, from being electronically tagged or by being asked to regularly report to a police station or youth offending team.

How you can be monitored

During a community sentence, you may have to let someone know where you are at certain times. This could be a police officer or someone from the youth offending team.

For example, you may have to be at home by a certain time - this is called a curfew. The police could phone or visit your house to check you are there.

Being tagged

Tagging is when an electronic tag is attached to you, usually around your leg. A monitoring team can then check where you are at all times.

The Intensive Supervision and Surveillance (ISS) programme

You could be put on the ISS programme as part of your community sentence. This means you will have to complete lots of different activities while being closely supervised and supported by youth justice workers.

You can also be put on the ISS programme if you are given conditional bail. To find out what this means, follow the link ‘Bail and remand for young people’ below.

• Bail and remand for young people

Having surveillance equipment installed at your home

If the court orders that you have to be monitored at home, surveillance equipment may need to be installed in your home. The equipment is usually connected to a phone line and is used to check whether you are at home during set times.

This can only be done with the agreement of the ‘responsible householder’, who will often be your parent or carer.

If the court orders this, the local youth offending team can explain what this means.

• Community sentences for young people

• Youth offending teams: what they are

• Find your local youth offending team Opens new window