Thresholds, the pre-sentence report and principal disposals

A threshold is a legal condition that must be met before a type of sentence is justified. It is not an instruction to move automatically up a punishment ladder. Consider the offence and offender before the court now. A previous community sentence does not automatically require custody next time, and crossing the custody threshold does not itself make imprisonment inevitable. Sources: Sentencing Code, ss.204 and 230; Imposition guideline, sections 1–2.

Discharge. Where the statutory conditions are met and punishment is inexpedient, an absolute discharge disposes of the offence without punishment. A conditional discharge instead requires the offender to commit no further offence during a specified period of up to three years from the order. A qualifying further offence can result in the offender being dealt with again for the original offence. A discharge is not an acquittal, although section 82 limits the purposes for which the conviction is treated as a conviction. Check any statutory restriction, including a mandatory sentencing requirement; do not assume every ancillary order is either automatically available or automatically prohibited alongside it. Sources: Sentencing Code, ss.79–82.

Fine. A fine is a financial penalty. The court assesses seriousness and the offender’s financial circumstances under the statutory rules and the relevant guideline. The offence’s applicable fine limit still matters; imprisonment limits do not answer the fine question. Obtain a reliable statement of means and consider ability to pay and the impact of other financial orders. Do not use a flat amount merely because another offender received it. Sources: Sentencing Code, ss.124–126; CrimPR 24.11 and 25.16; General guideline.

Community order. For an adult, a community order requires an imprisonable offence and offending serious enough to justify that form of sentence. The order combines one or more lawful requirements, such as unpaid work, rehabilitation activity, treatment or curfew. It must have an end date no later than three years after it is made. Requirements must be suitable and compatible, and their restrictions must be proportionate to seriousness. Ordinarily at least one requirement must serve punishment, unless a fine is imposed or the statutory exceptional-circumstances exception applies. Sources: Sentencing Code, ss.200–208 and Schedule 9; Imposition guideline, community orders.

A workable requirement is not just a label. Check treatment suitability and any required consent, local provision, the offender’s ability to comply, work and caring responsibilities, and compatibility between requirements. A rehabilitation activity requirement allows the responsible officer to direct rehabilitation activity within the court’s authorised framework. As at 5 September 2026 that requirement has not yet been replaced by the new “probation requirement”: the relevant commencement was moved to 1 October 2026. The court must not impose a new statutory requirement before the power is operative. Sources: Sentencing Code, Schedule 9; Sentencing Act 2026, ss.12–16; SI 2026/772, reg.3, as amended by SI 2026/948, reg.2.

For the common unpaid-work requirement, the ordinary adult amount is 40–300 hours. Do not also teach an invariable deadline requiring completion within 12 months: the relevant 2026 removal of that deadline commenced on 11 May 2026. This does not remove the order’s lawful end date or make compliance optional. The separate earned-reduction provision is not yet operative on this chapter’s checked date. Sources: Sentencing Code, Schedule 9, Part 1, as amended by Sentencing Act 2026, ss.36–37; SI 2026/402, reg.2; SI 2026/772, reg.5.

Custody threshold. The custody thresholdGlossary termCustody threshold requires offending so serious that neither a fine alone nor a community sentence is justified. The offence may be assessed with associated offences as the statute permits. Even when that threshold is crossed, the court must still consider whether a proportionate community disposal can achieve the sentencing purposes. A suspended sentence is custody; it cannot be imposed merely as a tougher community order where a custodial sentence is not justified. If custody is chosen, section 5 supplies the shortest-term and suspension decisions. Sources: Sentencing Code, ss.230–231; Imposition guideline, sections 2 and 5.

Pre-sentence report (PSR). A pre-sentence reportGlossary termPre-sentence report (PSR) is normally prepared by the Probation Service to inform the court about the offender, risk, needs and suitable sentencing options. It can be oral or written as the statutory framework permits. Before forming the relevant community or custodial sentencing opinion, the court must obtain and consider a report unless it considers one unnecessary. The same section 30 requirements expressly apply to the 2026 opinions about exceptional circumstances against suspension and significant risk to a particular individual. “Unnecessary” requires enough reliable information to decide properly; it is not a licence to ignore missing risk or suitability evidence. Sources: Sentencing Code, ss.30–32, 264A(5) and 277A(6); Imposition guideline, section 3.

The court, not the report writer, decides sentence. A PSR recommendation does not bind it, and requesting a report does not promise a non-custodial outcome. Where appropriate, a stand-down for an oral report may avoid an unnecessary adjournment. If more time is needed, address bail or custody lawfully while the report is prepared. The report assists sentencing judgment but does not convert a disputed prosecution allegation into a proved fact. Material factual disputes still require the procedure in section 7. Sources: Sentencing Code, ss.30–32; CPD 9.1–9.3; CrimPR 24.11 and 25.16.

The Sentencing Guidelines (Pre-sentence Reports) Act 2025 restricts the Sentencing Council’s framing of PSR guidance by different personal characteristics, expressly including race, religion or belief and cultural background. It does not abolish the court’s section 30 duty or prevent individual circumstances from being relevant to a lawful sentence. Use the definitive imposition guideline, effective 1 September 2025 with its subsequent amendments, not the withdrawn draft approach. Sources: Sentencing Guidelines (Pre-sentence Reports) Act 2025, ss.1–2; Imposition guideline.

Deferral is different from a report adjournment. A formal deferment postpones sentencing so that subsequent conduct or circumstances can be considered. It requires the statutory conditions, including the offender’s consent and undertaking to comply with requirements and the interests-of-justice assessment. The maximum period from the deferment order is 12 months where all the relevant convictions are on or after 22 March 2026, but six months where any is before that date. It is not simply an adjournment to obtain missing paperwork. Breach of the undertaking or further offending can bring the offender back before the court under the statutory procedure. Sources: Sentencing Code, ss.3–13, as amended by Sentencing Act 2026, s.5; s.49(4); Imposition guideline, deferment.

Completion, termination and breach. Since 11 May 2026, the responsible officer can bring a community order to its statutory early termination date when the conditions in Schedule 10, paragraph 15A are satisfied. These include the absence of the specified special-review provision, no need for further rehabilitation instructions where relevant, compliance with other requirements, and completion of any sentence-plan objectives without a need to add more. The officer specifies the date to the offender. Merely completing unpaid-work hours does not necessarily end an order containing other obligations. The amendments apply to orders whenever made. Sources: Sentencing Act 2026, s.38; SI 2026/402, reg.2.

Failure without reasonable excuse to comply with a community order engages its enforcement regime. The court must consider the proved failure, compliance to date and the lawful response; it does not automatically impose prison. Its powers include making the order more onerous within statutory limits, a fine, or revocation and resentencing where the statutory conditions are met. Any fresh custodial sentence still requires the relevant legal analysis, including the current suspension framework. Sources: Sentencing Code, Schedule 10; Breach of a community order guideline.

Repair address. Return here for the distinction between availability, threshold and suitability; the role of a PSR; and the difference between adjournment and formal deferment. A mistake about whether a custodial term must be suspended belongs in section 5.