Community service orders : fine on time - an alternative for doing time

Abstract

This article examines the scope and rationale of Community Service Orders and their application and implementation within the context of domestic legal frameworks. Reference will be made to community service’s underlying philosophy of restorative justice, its origins and development, and its current operation and practice within the local context. Community service provides a very fitting alternative intermediate sanction in the case of offences where a fine is considered unsuitable, an incarceration sentence too punitive and a conditional discharge or probation order too lenient to reach the objectives of rehabilitation, restitution, and reintegration of the offender into the community. By acting as a fine on time, community service acts as an equitable punishment and provides offenders with the opportunity to remain active members in the community, whilst making amends for the harm committed. Moreover, through such sanctions, the community, as a secondary victim of crime benefits through useful unpaid work carried out to voluntary organisations and other non-profit entities. Community service orders are considered highly effective alternatives to imprisonment and their wider application should help to make the domestic criminal justice system more rehabilitative and restorative. The article provides a number of recommendations for legal reform in the area with the aim of expanding further the implementation of community service within the local context within the spirit of restorative justice.