COMMUNITY service sentencing will become a permanent option for Guernsey’s courts, if the States approves.

The department said it was a useful tool that stopped the prison filling up, served the community and which could even reduce the likelihood of reoffending.

The scheme currently operates on a pilot basis. ‘Since its introduction, community service has proved a valuable sentence for the courts to impose, generally as an alternative to an immediate custodial sentence, where it is deemed that the punishment can be undertaken safely within the community.’ It would still be managed for the Home Department by the Probation Service.

‘The department believes that the restrictions placed on the offender’s liberty, coupled with the positive contribution made to the community due to the work undertaken, make this an effective and worthwhile sentence.’

One recommendation was to reduce the minimum hours that could be imposed on child offenders in the Juvenile Court from 40 to 10.

The report also observed that good examples set by supervising staff had an effect on offenders, and noted an overwhelmingly positive response from beneficiaries who went out of their way to offer encouragement to offenders and who wrote positive feedback.

The estimated cost of running the scheme in 2010 is £140,000. This represents approximately £1,077 per order, based on 130 orders per year, as opposed to the cost of £33,433 per prison place.