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enjoyed and practiced up to now. Indeed, as further proof of the policy of non-
interference in the current practices of the courts Section 99(3) provides:
The court may, when making an order under subsection(1), impose such conditions in
relation to the order as the court considers-
(a) appropriate having regard to the nature of the offence, and
(b) will reduce the likelihood of the person in respect of whom the order is
made committinganyfurther offence,
and any conditions imposed in accordance with this subsection shall be specified in
that order.
Section 99(3)(b) clearly advances a policy of special deterrents where conditions may be
attached to an order of a suspended sentence and presumably, although this is not clear in
the text, incorporated into the recognisance, that the offender comply with conditions
tailored to his/her specific criminogenic circumstances. In addition section 99(3)(a) allows
the court to have regard to the specific type of offence. Conceivably, this would
incorporate offences on a scale of seriousness ranging from the most serious such as
manslaughter to the most minor offence but still capable of carryinga prison sentence such
as a breach of Section 6 of the Criminal Justice (Public Order) Act 1994.
Besides the open-ended discretion given to a sentencing court to attach a variety of
conditions to the order under Section 99(3)(a) and(b), a menuof specific conditions are set
out in section 99(4) which can only be made if the sentence is constructed as a part
suspended sentence.
Although these conditions appear to apply only to part-suspended sentences, there is no
prohibition on a court imposing the same conditions for a wholly suspended sentence
since the court’s discretion in specifyingconditions is so wide.
Section 99(4) provides:
In addition to any condition imposed under subsection (3), the court may, when
making an order under subsection(1) consisting of the suspension in part of a sentence
of imprisonment or upon an application under subsection(6), impose anyone or more
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