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cases it is not uncommon for the defendant to have a family and to be in good
employment. Instead, the court might impose a custodial sentence and then suspend it as
a denunciation of the behaviour. A third possible use of the suspended sentence is
suggested in the use of conditions attached to a suspended sentence which present the
offender as a malleable subject capable of being moulded into a changed person provided
s/he complies with conditions designed for that purpose. This presents the sanction as a
controlling and rehabilitative device. Fourthly, and allied to the latter issue is the use of
the sanction to specificallydeter the offender from committing similar or other offences in
future or at least while under the shadowof a prison sentence which is suspended. Fifthly
the suspended sentence might be regarded through a wider lens. In this scenario the
sanction, if applied widely, may be utilised as a crime prevention strategy for certain types
of offences such as car theft, assault upon police or crimes of domestic violence. Thus,
offenders who fall into theses categories may be given suspended sentences not only to
show the court’s strong disapproval of these specific offences but to control the future
behaviour of such offenders in these specific categories.
It is likely that Irish sentencers generally look to the deterrent elements of the suspended
sentence, expressed as conditions attached to the suspended sentence, as the predominant
factor when deciding to impose a suspended sentence rather than considering the
imposition of an immediate custodial sentence. 89 This is more likely to be the approach
adoptedbysentencers in a large number of less serious offences such as assaults and public
order offences, whatever about the desirability expressed by O'Malley (2000) and Walsh
(2002) of usingthe penaltyexclusivelyin lieu of custody.
Generally, the case law dealing with suspended sentences yields little other than a
discussion upon the mechanics of the sanction such as howand when to breach and issues
of proportionality. Ultimately the search for the rationale of the suspended sentence in
Irish sentencing practice must be located in the sentencing or trial courts and not in the
reflective appellate courts as one might expect. The overarching principles of
proportionalityand particularlythe requirement to individualise a sentence according to the
circumstances of the offender and the offence present a challenge to the standard
interpretation of the suspendedsentence solelyas an alternative to custody.
89 People (D.P.P) – v– Donnan, Central Criminal Court, 15th July, 2006, Irish Times.
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