National Objectives for Social Work Services in the Criminal Justice System: Standards - Community Service
CHAPTER 10: TRANSFER OF ORDERS
120.Offenders are obliged to notify the Community Service Officer without delay of any change of address, including when they move to a new court area. In such circumstances, the Community Service Officer will wish to consider whether to seek transfer of the order or to take other appropriate action, such as review (e.g. in circumstances where the offender has performed his/her order well and has few hours left to complete.) While offenders are not obliged to provide notification before they move, Community Service Officers are advised to plan transfers in advance wherever circumstances permit, in order to achieve a smooth transfer of the order. In any event, applications for transfer should not be made to the court until (a) the Community Service Officer is satisfied that it is other than a temporary, short term move, and (b) for transfers within Scotland, the offender has moved to the new court area.
121.No Community Service Officer should supervise an order for a Community Service Officer in another area without formal transfer of that order, other than for short periods in exceptional circumstances.
121.1"Section 7" cases may only be transferred to a Community Service Scheme elsewhere in Scotland where similar arrangements exist. In such cases, it is the responsibility of the officer supervising the Probation Order to ensure that the arrangements for transfer, as set out below, are followed in accordance with whatever local arrangements apply for collaboration with the Community Service Officer.
121.2where an offender subject to a "Section 7" requirement moves to a locality where similar arrangements do not exist, the officer supervising the Probation Order, in accordance with whatever local arrangements exist for collaboration with the Community Service Officer, will need to determine what action to recommend to the court. He/she may be, for example, apply to court to amend the order by deletion of the Community Service requirement. This would then permit transfer of the Probation element of the order.
Outward Transfers
122.The following procedures shall apply to all outgoing transfers and the responsibility of the Community Service Officer for the court transferring the order shall be to:
122.1request the officer in the new area to see the offender, confirm the exact address he/she will be staying at and confirm that the move seems to be other than a temporary, short term stay;
122.2 supply the officer in the new area with such information as is necessary to determine whether to accept the transfer. Copies of written file material should not normally be sent prior to acceptance of the transfer;
122.3obtain confirmation that the officer in the new area is willing to accept transfer of the order;
122.4on agreement to transfer the Order, send the officer in the new areas:
122.4.1the SER, change(s) and Community Service Order(s);
122.4.2the permanent record of attendances, absences and hours worked;
122.4.3the case notes.
123.Where an order is being transferred to a Community Service Scheme in England, Wales or Northern Ireland ensure (or confirm with the officer in the new area) before formal application is made to court that the offender is aware of:
123.1the different requirements of the Order in England, Wales or Northern Ireland;
123.2the powers of the court in England, Wales or Northern Ireland in the event of a breach or review action;
123.3the retained powers of the Scottish court of origin in the event of breach of review action. (see paragraph 128)
Inward Transfers
124.The following procedures shall apply to all incoming transfers and the responsibility of the Community Service Officer for the court receiving the transfer shall be:
124.1at the request of the officer seeking to transfer the order, interview the offender, confirm the address at which he/she intends to stay and satisfy himself/herself that the move is other than a temporary, short term stay;
124.2obtain from the officer seeking the transfer such information as is necessary to determine whether to accept the transfer. Copies of written file material are not required for this purpose;
124.3notify without delay the officer seeking transfer of the decision whether to accept the transfer and, where the acceptance is agreed, ensure the following are received:
124.4the SER, charge(s) and Community Service Order(s);
124.5the permanent record of attendance, absences and hours worked;
124.6the case notes; and from the court:
124.7a copy of the transfer order.
125.Where an order is being transferred from a Community Service Scheme in England, Wales or Northern Ireland ensure the offender is aware of:
125.1the different requirements of the order in Scotland;
125.2the powers of the court in Scotland in the event of a breach or review action;
125.3the retained powers of the English, Welsh or Irish court of origin in the event of a breach of review action. (see paragraph 127)
126.Agree procedures with the local clerk(s) of the court to ensure the court does not accept an inward transfer of an order until and unless the Community Service Officer confirms that arrangements can be made for the offender to perform work under the order.
Transfers: England or Wales to Scotland
127The transferring court in England or Wales must forward the following documents to the equivalent Scottish Court having jurisdiction in respect of the area where the offender resides, or intends to reside eg. High Court to High Court, Crown Court and Magistrates Court to the Sheriff Court.
127.1copies of the Order and 3 copies of the Amending Order. These copies must be certified as true copies of the original document by the Clerk of the Court i.e. signed copies and not facsimiles.
127.2such other documents or information relating to the offender which may be of assistance to the supervising authority, eg. a copy of the PSR, any psychiatric reports, Community Service reports and details of previous convictions.
In the event of breach, the court in Scotland may not exercise any power under sections 239(5)(b) or 240(1)(c) or (d) of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995, i.e. a power to revoke the order (with or without dealing with the offender for the original offence) either for failure to comply with a requirement of the order or in the interests of justice. If the offender fails to comply with such an order, or the court in Scotland is of the opinion that it is in the interests of justice that the order should be revoked under paragraph 7 or 8 of Schedule 2 to the Criminal Justice Act 1991, then the court in Scotland may require the offender to appear before the court which made the order.
Transfers: Scotland to England or Wales
128.1The Scottish Court holding the order must forward to the equivalent Court in England or Wales having jurisdiction in the area where the offender resides, or intends to reside:
128.1copies of the Order and 3 copies of the Amending Order. These copies must be certified as true copies of the original document by the Clerk of the Court. The documents that the Clerk of Court is responsible for sending to the Court receiving the order will be the documents available to the Court at the time of sentencing.
128.2the Supervising Officer will be responsible for transferring other documents or information relating to the offender which may be of assistance to the Supervising Probation Officer involved, e.g. a copy of the SER, any psychiatric reports, Community Service reports and details of previous convictions to the receiving Social Work Department.
129.3where the order proposed to be transferred is a "Section 7" or Probation Order with a condition of Community Service, and the number of hours of Community Service remaining to be worked at the time of transfer exceeds 100, the Court application should be made to the Court under Schedule 6 to the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 to consider reducing the number of hours remaining to 100. Legislation in England and Wales in respect of "Combination Orders" restricts the maximum number of Community Service hours which can be imposed to 100 hours. It is not therefore competent to transfer such an order to England and Wales with more than 100 hours Community Service remaining at the time of transfer. The Supervising Officer, or the offender, may apply to the court, under Schedule 6 to the 1995 Act, to have the order amended. In the event of the court declining to amend the order the offender should be advised that a move before completion of the order will result in breach action.
129.In the event of a breach of an order which has been transferred to a court in England or Wales or Northern Ireland, under section 244 of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 that court may exercise any power which would apply for an order made in that part of the United Kingdom except a power to vary the number of hours work in excess of that which the originating court could have ordered or to revoke the order (with our without dealing with the offender as for the original offence).