Page 4645 - Week 12 - Thursday, 15 October 2009
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(b) In 2001-02 – 9
In 2002-03 – 1
In 2003-04 – 1
In 2004-05 – 1
In 2005-06 – 4
In 2006-07 – 2
In 2007-08 – 4
In 2008-09 (to 31/03/09) – 10
(c) No sentences involving Community Service Orders were handed down in the Court of Appeal.
(2) When an offender is sentenced to a Community Service Order (CSO), the CSO Supervisor places the offender at a suitable agency. The offender signs a work direction stating that he/she agrees to work on a certain day for a certain number of hours for a certain number of weeks. The agency completes a time sheet for the offender’s hours. Both the offender and a representative from the agency initial the time sheet as verification of the hours worked.
Each week that time sheet is either faxed to the CSO work unit, or an officer from the unit will go to the agency to obtain a copy of the time sheet. Those hours are then recorded on ACTCS’ offender management system. If an offender fails to attend, that information is also recorded on the time sheet and on the offender management system. Close contact regarding offender behaviour is maintained with the agencies whilst the offenders are working.
(3) (a) ACT Corrective Services does not have the power to give early release from Community Service Orders.
(b) Data for this is only reliable from 2004, as prior to this, information was stored on a different electronic system which has previously proved inaccurate.
In 2004-05 – 36
In 2005-06 – 31
In 2006-07 – 53
In 2007-08 – 100
In 2008-09 (to 31/03/09) – 67
(4) These CSOs mentioned above were not completed for a variety of reasons, including appeals to Supreme Court being upheld, imprisonment (this occurs largely as result of a separate offence, but could occur as a result of an offender breaching his/her CSO), the offender being registered interstate (this can occur at any time during the order), the offender being resentenced, the order being revoked, the offender being sentenced to Periodic Detention Centre, or a warrant being issued to locate the prisoner.
Where an offender does not comply with the conditions of his/her CSO, ACT Corrective Services has the power only to breach the offender. Subsequent action, for example, imprisonment (as referred to above) can be taken by the courts.
(5) Once an offender has completed his/her order (this will be evident to them from the running tally on their time sheet and because their ACT Corrective Services work supervisor will advise them), the CSO unit will send the offender a letter of discharge. A copy of this letter is also sent to the sentencing court advising them of the offender’s successful completion.
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