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In Conclusion
The suspended sentence and the community service order are presented in this study as
direct alternatives to the custodial sentence. The relative underutilisation of the community
service order suggests that the courts generallylook upon the actual custodial sentence as a
separate sentence which must be served if the offence and the circumstances of the
offender ultimately warrant it. Community service orders are made with much less
frequencythan custodial sentences, particularly in respect of minor offences. This suggests
that a significant number of sentencers do not generally equate community service with a
real custodial sentence and hence are reluctant to use it for that purpose. Of those judges
who do use the community service order, the study discloses the presence of a subset of
sentencers within that group, who would occasionally utilise the sanction without strict
compliance with the pre-custodial requirement of Sec.2
Paradoxically the high frequency with which the suspended sentence is used on the other
hand suggests that the suspended sentence is not used as often as is claimed as an
alternative to a real custodial sentence but rather as an approximation to a conditional
discharge at a much lower level of penalty.
In the case of the community service order, a punishment on time is extracted whereas
under a suspended sentence a commitment towards good behaviour is conditionally given
by the offender. Provided the offender complies with the conditions of the bond the
integrity of the sentence remains intact. However, if a breach occurs and the offender is
not brought back to the court the deterrent value of the sanction which has been identified
here as the primary purpose of the sanction is undone. This raises again what Osborough
(1981) has referred to as an awkward question. If both offenders and judges do not believe
that breaches will be brought back for consideration of revocation, can the suspended
sentence have any other purpose other than to symbolise the passing of a custodial
sentence which is never under any circumstances to be served or is the sentence merely a
marker for a subsequent court to take into account when sentencing for a subsequent
offence?
The operation of Section 99 of the Criminal Justice Act 2006 may provide the point of
departure fromthis dystopian viewof the operation of the suspended sentence to date.
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