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Besides the opportunities presented for the introduction of community service in the early
1970s, unquestionably, the growth in the crime rate and consequent increase in the prison
population had a significant impact upon official thinking and on any proposed solutions
to prison overcrowding. The estimated costs of building and maintaining a growing
prison system was presented as untenable. In these circumstances the opportunities and
exigencies of the situation combined in a pragmatic fashion to bring forward a penalty
which would not overburden the exchequer and which was generally perceived as fair and
progressive.
Thus in the jurisdiction of England and Wales, we see the emergence of this new penalty
of community service in the latter quarter of the 20 th century. The factors influencing its
emergence at that time have been discussed in this chapter as well as the legislative
framework providing for its introduction. The community service order was expected to
make a significant contribution to the reduction of short-term custodial sentences, thus
easing prison overcrowding. The extent to which the sanction contributed to this
sentencing aim will be discussed in the next chapter which deals with the operationalisation
of the penalty.
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