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GAZETTE
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 1984
The Criminal Justice
(Community Service) Act 1983
by
Gerald F. Griffin, Solicitor.
T
HE Criminal Justice (Community Service) Act, 1983
("the Act") was passed by both Houses of the
Oireachtas and became law on the 7th July, 1983. The Act
will, however, only come into operation when ministerial
order to that effect is made by the Minister for Justice.
The Act will be of great interest to practitioners, in that
it offers the relevant Court an alternative sanction
whereby an offender who is convicted of a criminal
offence may be ordered by the Court which convicts him
to perform under supervision and within a stated time, a
specified number of hours of unpaid work for the benefit
of the community. The order in question is called a
"Community Service Order." The Act confers jurisdic-
tion on the Circuit Court and the District Court, but
specifically excludes the Special Criminal Court.
The Act provides that work under a Community
Service Order will be organised and supervised by the
Probation and Welfare Service of the Department of
Justice. It applies to persons of or over the age of sixteen
years who have been convicted of a criminal offence for
which there is no mandatory sentence and in respect of
which the Court could impose a sentence of penal
servitude, imprisonment or detention in St. Patrick's
Institution.
The Act preserves existing powers of the Courts to
make other orders, such as an order disqualifying a
person from holding a driving licence, or an order for
payment of compensation. It should be noted that the Act
does not affect the imposition of mandatory sentences,
for example the mandatory disqualification on conviction
for drunken driving.
There are certain conditions laid down in the Act as a
pre-requisite for the making of a Community Service
Order, which are as follows:
The Court must satisfy itself —
1. that, having considered a report on the offender
from a probation officer, the offender is suitable for
community service and
2. that the offender can be provided with work and
3. that the offender consents to the making of the
order.
The Court must also explain to the offender the effect
of the order, that he must perform satisfactorily within a
period of twelve months a specified number of hours of
work and that any change of address by the offender must
be notified to the relevant officer. The offender must also
be informed by the Court that it has the power to review
the order either on the application of the probation officer
or on the application of the offender, depending on the
circumstances.
Subject to the above mentioned, the Court can direct a
minimum of forty hours and a maximum of two hundred
and forty hours to be worked in any twelve month period.
The Act also provides for the making of more than one
Community Service Order in respect of an offender but
with a maximum number of hours in any twelve month
period not to exceed two hundred and forty hours.
An offender who is the subject matter of a Community
Service Order has to comply with certain requirements, as
follows:
(a) He is required to report to his supervising officer
when called upon.
(b) He must perform satisfactorily the number of hours
work required of him under the order and notify his
supervising officer of any change of address. In
making the order the Court must avoid, as far as
possible, any interference with the offender's
normal work or with his attendance at any educa-
tional establishment.
If the offender should fail, without reasonable excuse,
to comply with the requirements of the order the offender
can be brought before the District Court and the Court
many impose a fine up to a maximum of £300.00.
There is no provision for a prison sentence in lieu of a
fine.
Upon a complaint being made by the supervising
officer, the offender may be summoned to appear before
the District Court and, should the offender fail to appear,
the Court may issue a warrant for his arrest.
As an alternative to imposing a fine, the Court may
simply revoke the order and deal with the offender for the
original offence in the normal manner.
The Act also lays down certain conditions where the
offender changes his residence from one Court area to
another and both the supeiVising officer and the offender
have the right to apply to the District Court to review the
order.
As indicated at the outset, the Act has not as yet come
into operation and awaits the making of statutory
instrument by the Minister for Justice. It is anticipated
that certain difficulties will have to be overcome before
the Minister can in fact bring the Act into operation. For
example, a "Community Service Order" is not defined in
the Act, although it is presumed that the service required
of an offender would be such that it would be of benefit to
the entire community.
There are certain instances where an order could be
readily made, for example in cases of malicious damage
and the removal of graffiti. However, the Act requires
that the Court must be satisfied, prior to the making of the
order, that the offender can be provided with work. It is
possible that certain resistance may be encountered from
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