London Probation Trust - Community Sentencing

Community Sentencing

London Probation Trust manages community sentences imposed by the court for adult offenders: those aged 18 and above. At the heart of the community sentence is compulsory unpaid work, which is tough, demanding and designed to ensure offenders pay back to the community. Over one million hours of unpaid work have been undertaken by offenders under London Probation supervision for the benefit of London communities.

The Community Payback scheme gives local people a say in what unpaid work takes place in their area and how it will benefit the community. From bringing derelict areas and buildings back into public use to cleaning graffiti from the streets, offenders on compulsory unpaid work orders do work that otherwise may not be carried out.

Other elements of the community sentence include prohibited activities, where an offender is banned from undertaking certain activities, and curfews supported by electronic monitoring. London Probation Trust also runs programmes to tackle the root causes of offending. The programmes teach offenders to think before they act, improve their literacy and numeracy, and address specific problems with behaviour including drug abuse. London Probation Trust provides strict supervision and offenders who break the terms of their order are taken back to court.