Criminal Justice (Sentencing etc) Bill

Regulation of suspended sentence orders

15.—(1) The Department may by regulations make further provision regulating—

(a) the supervision of offenders subject to suspended sentence orders;

(b) the arrangements to be made under Article 4(1)(b) of the Probation Board (Northern Ireland) Order 1982 for offenders subject to suspended sentence orders to perform work and the performance of such work;

(c) without prejudice to the generality of paragraphs (a) and (b), the functions of the responsible officers of such offenders.

(2) Regulations under subsection (1)(b) may in particular make provision—

(a) limiting the number of hours of work to be done by an offender on any one day,

(b) as to the reckoning of hours worked and the keeping of work records, and

(c) for the payment of travelling and other expenses in connection with the performance of work.

(3) Regulations under this section are subject to negative resolution.

Restriction on making both community order and suspended sentence order

16.—(1) A court which makes a suspended sentence order in relation to an offender for an offence must not make a community order in the offender’s case in respect of another offence—

(a) of which the offender is convicted by or before that court at the same time, or Criminal Justice (Sentencing etc) Bill 9 Part 2—Suspended sentences

(b) for which the offender is dealt with by that court at the same time.

(2) In subsection (1), “community order” has the meaning given by Article 2(2) of the Criminal Justice (Northern Ireland) Order 1996.

Interpretation

17.—(1) In this Part—

“activation event” has the meaning given by section 4(4);

“community requirement” has the meaning given by section 8(1) and references to a community requirement are to be construed in accordance with section 4(7);

“custodial sentence” has the meaning given by Article 4 of the Criminal Justice (Northern Ireland) Order 2008;

“HSC trust” means a Health and Social Care trust established under Article 10(1) of the Health and Personal Social Services (Northern Ireland) Order 1991 and “authorised HSC trust” must be construed in accordance with subsection (2);

“imprisonable offence” has the meaning given by section 4(6);

“operational period” means the period specified under—

(a) section 5(1), or

(b) paragraph 8(1)(d)(iv) or (e)(ii) of Schedule 2 (extension of operational period on breach of order or subsequent conviction);

“responsible officer” has the meaning given by section 11(2); #

“sentence of imprisonment” does not include a committal or attachment for contempt of court;

“supervision period” means the period specified under—

(a) section 5(3),

(b) paragraph 8(1)(d)(iii) of Schedule 2 (extension of supervision period on breach of order or subsequent conviction), or

(c) paragraph 17(1)(c) of that Schedule (amendment of community requirements);

“suspended sentence” has the meaning given by section 4(6);

“suspended sentence order” has the meaning given by section 4(1);

“unpaid work requirement”, in relation to a suspended sentence order, means a requirement authorised by paragraph 1(1) of Schedule 1;

“young offenders centre” has the meaning given by section 2(a) of the Treatment of Offenders Act (Northern Ireland) 1968.

(2) A reference in this Part to an “authorised HSC trust” is a reference to a HSC trust that is exercising social care and children functions within the meaning of Article 10A of the Health and Personal Social Services (Northern Ireland) Order 1991. 

(3) For the purposes of any reference in this Part to a term of imprisonment or to a term of detention in a young offenders centre, consecutive terms or terms which are wholly or partly concurrent must be treated as a single term if—

(a) the sentences were passed on the same occasion, or

(b) where they were passed on different occasions, the offender has not been released under Chapter 4 of Part 2 of the Criminal Justice (Northern Ireland) Order 2008 at any time during the period beginning with the first and ending with the last of those occasions.