Enforcement of community service orders
What happens when people who have committed crime or offences and have been ordered to complete a certain amount of hours of community service? It would be good to know for the general public what the actual process is; for example, what kind of community service do they usually perform, who is deciding what kind of community service are they to complete, who is supervising them to ensure they are actually completing their hours, etc?
Auntie’s answer: When an adult is mandated to perform community service, either by the court or the Conditional Release Board, his or her supervision falls to the Department of Community Rehabilitation (DCR) under the Community Payback Programme.
The department offered a detailed explanation of what that process entails. To start with, the person must report to DCR, through which their placement is organised, based on their skills or interests, to complete the required hours of work in the community.
The service can include clean-up projects, assisting a non-profit organisation or basically any other task that would benefit the community. The DCR official pointed out, “Community service is done on your free time and is unpaid work.”
The number of hours of service required is determined by the referring agency, and a DCR community service coordinator and/or a probation officer supervises the completion of this time.
As to what happens if this order is not followed: The referring agency is provided with information on compliance with the order and is notified once the hours have been completed. If a person does not abide by the mandated hours, a non-compliance report is submitted to the court or Conditional Release Board for appropriate consequences/sanctions to be enforced.
The court and/or board will be guided by the Alternative Sentencing Law on what action to take, but the overall presenting circumstances of the individual are considered on a case-by-case basis. The DCR official explained that penalties for non-compliance can be a fine, a custodial sentence, an extension to the community service order or the original sentence may be substituted if the court sees fit.
Category: Ask Auntie
This programme is well run and enforced. I know as I had a community service mandate, worked with a coordinated through DCR, and was very fortunate to be matched with a service at the Pines which benefitted the clients there and me. Long after my dues were paid, I continue to volunteer there and love it.
In Cayman, we don’t do enforcement of any sort. We just pass laws.
At what point are immigration informed?