National Objectives for Social Work Services in the Criminal Justice System: Standards - Supervised Attendance Orders
CHAPTER 1 : Introduction and Legislative Background
1.1These national objectives and standards relate to the provision of Supervised Attendance Orders by local authority social work departments themselves and in collaboration with other agencies. A Supervised Attendance Order is an order available to criminal courts in Scotland which requires an offender who has failed to pay a fine to undertake a programme of designated activities for a specified number of hours. The intention is to substitute a time penalty which provides constructive activity.
The Need for National Standards
1.2National Standards provide a framework for the local management and operation of supervised attendance order schemes. They:
1.2.1provide a full description of the requirements of the SAO for the court;
1.2.2explain what offenders must do to complete the order satisfactorily and what happens if they do not comply;
1.2.3set clear standards for running schemes to ensure a measure of national consistency and to command the respect of the courts, the general public, participating agencies and offenders.
1.3The Standards specify the framework of the service to be provided. Its quality will depend, however, on the skills of those who deliver it. Managers and practitioners must base the service on the Standards but should use their initiative and professional judgement to develop and run the service. The standards will be reviewed regularly and may be revised in the light of experience or changes in legislation or policy.
1.4The use of the term standard is not intended to denote the rigid application of rules which allows little scope of managerial flexibility and initiative or professional judgement. Rather it is used to establish benchmarks against which fairness, consistency, and good management practice can be tested, and the performance of individual SAO Schemes assessed. A measure of flexibility has therefore been built into the statement of individual standards to allow adaptation in their application to local circumstances.
1.5There may also be exceptional circumstances where it is appropriate for SAO managers and practitioners to depart from particular standards in full or in part. Supervising Officers must record their reasons in writing and these must be endorsed also in writing by the relevant line manager.
1.6Where any discretion is exercised under 4 or 5 above, it must always be justifiable.
1.7Throughout these standards the term "Supervising Officer" refers to the social work staff member responsible for supervising the offender and enforcing the order. Other staff appointed by the local authority or by an agency with which the local authority contracts to provide activities may deal with the offender on a day to day basis and may therefore be responsible for noting and passing on to the Supervising Officer information about the offender's compliance with the order. The term used to describe these staff is "contract manager".
Objectives
1.8The objectives of Supervised Attendance are to:
1.8.1Extend the community-based sentencing options available to the court by serving as a disposal to be used:
afor persons who fail to pay a fine; and
bfor offenders aged 16 or 17 who the court considers unable to pay an appropriate fine;
1.8.2instil discipline in the offender by requiring him or her to attend regularly and punctually, behave satisfactorily and participate fully;
1.8.3provide constructive activities for offenders to undertake with the aim of encouraging personal and social responsibility and self-respect;
1.8.4supervise offenders firmly and fairly and follow-up non-compliance promptly.
Operational Principles
1.9.Local authorities providing Supervised Attendance Order Schemes should:-
1.9.1ensure that they organise and manage SAO schemes as part of local authority criminal justice social work services;
1.9.2deliver the service in a way which is credible, fair and consistent with National Standards;
1.9.3ensure that the activities which offenders carry out are constructive and relevant to their capacities, needs and circumstances;
1.9.4make available a sufficient number and range of activities to meet the expected demands of the courts;
1.9.5work in partnership with local agencies and organisations in the provision of appropriate activities;
1.9.6carry out monitoring in accordance with Annex 6.
The Legislation
1.10The law in relation to fines is mainly contained in sections 211-226 of the 1995 Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act. A summary is contained as Annexes 1 and 2.
1.11The current SAO legislation is in sections 235-237 and Schedule 7 of the same Act. There are separate provisions for offenders aged 18 or over, offenders aged 16 or 17 and for all offenders who request further time to pay a fine. If a local authority has any concerns about the competence of an order they should check the position with the court clerk.
1.12In cases where the offence was committed before 26 September 1995, the provisions of Section 62 and Schedule 6 of the Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions)(Scotland) Act 1990 would apply.
1.13A court may make an SAO only where the Secretary of State has notified that there is a scheme in the area where the offender lives (or intends to live) for that category of offender and the court is satisfied that provision can be made for the offender to carry out the requirements of the order.
1.14It is the responsibility of the local authority social work department to arrange with the clerk of each court to keep the informed of whether the scheme is able to accept offenders on an SAO.