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National Objectives for Social Work Services in the Criminal Justice System: Standards - Supervised Attendance Orders
CHAPTER 4 : COMPLYING WITH THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE ORDER
General
4.1Offenders subject to an SAO must comply with the following requirements set out in the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995:
4.1.1Attend a place of supervision for between 10 and 100 hours (subject to a limit of 50 hours where the outstanding amount is up to £200) as ordered by the court;
4.1.2During this time carry out such reasonable instructions as may be given by, or on behalf of the Supervising Officer;
4.1.3Report to the Supervising Officer as instructed;
4.1.4Notify the Supervising Officer without delay of any change of address (NB it is not necessary to approve any change of address);
4.1.5Notify the Supervising Officer without delay of any change in the times of employment;
4.1.6Carry out any instructions given by or on behalf of the Supervising Officer relating the completing the order satisfactorily.
4.2Supervising Officers must make sure that offenders fully understand these requirements and in particular those which involve attending punctually and carrying out the activity satisfactorily.
Undertaking an Order
4.3To carry out an activity satisfactorily the following conditions must be met:
Alcohol and Drugs
4.3.1Drugs (unless medically prescribed) and alcohol must not be consumed during sessions or breaks that qualify as credited hours;
4.3.2Any offender reporting who the supervisor thinks is under the influence of alcohol or drugs must be regarded as unable to carry out the activity satisfactorily and sent away.
Health and Safety
4.3.3An offender who refuses to comply with health and safety instructions will be judged unable to carry out the activity satisfactorily and sent away.
Smoking
4.3.4whether or not the offender may smoke will be considered in the light of the wishes of the agency and any health and safety regulations or other no-smoking policies or considerations which apply.
Satisfactory Behaviour
4.3.5Satisfactory behaviour also includes the following features:
acarrying out the activity in a way which meets the expectations of the person supervising it;
bbehaving in a way which shows respect for other people and a willingness to co-operate;
cfollowing the instructions given.
Compliance
4.4Enforcement procedures must conform to the requirements of supervised attendance order legislation. They should be capable of being upheld in a court of law and be clear, reasonable and, where necessary, swift.
4.5Supervising Officers and contract manager are responsible for taking reasonable steps to:
4.5.1Enable the offender to complete the order satisfactorily;
4.5.2Enforce the order if the offender does not comply with the requirements.
4.6The Supervising Officer must be fair and consistent in the way he or she applied the requirements.
Failing to Attend
4.7When the offender fails to attend, the Supervising Officer must:
4.7.1Follow-up the absence normally within 2 working days of being advised. This must always be done before the next scheduled attendance, except where this is not feasible, for example, where attendances are very close together. Wherever possible the offender should be interviewed;
4.7.2Decide whether the explanation for failing to attend is acceptable. As a general rule, the following are acceptable reasons:
aill health provided that the absence is certified by a medical practitioner within 7 days of the absence. The arrangements for the payment of medical certificates is as for Community Service and as set out in Circular DSW2/1989;
bWhere the offender is required by his or her employer to do something unforeseen;
cWhere it is clear that the offender is in custody;
dWhere the offender was faced with a serious and unforeseen crisis arising from his or her responsibilities outside work.
Formal Action for Failing to Attend
4.8When the Supervising Officer is not satisfied with the offender's explanation for not attending he or she must consider the absence unacceptable.
4.8.1Unacceptable absences should be dealt with in the following way:
aFirst Unacceptable Absence issue a formal warning orally, in writing, or both, recorded in the case file;
bSecond Unacceptable Absence issue a final warning orally and by letter (recorded delivery), again recorded in the case file;
cThird Unacceptable Absence suspend the order and institute breach proceedings.
4.8.2It should be stressed that an offender may be breached on the basis of one unacceptable absence or other failure to comply with the requirements of the order.
4.9The offender must be notified formally if the order is suspended and breach proceedings instituted.
4.10Failing to attend without an acceptable explanation should always result in action to enforce the order. Supervising Officers should however, use their judgement about whether to use these procedures when offenders do not meet other requirements. Once these procedures are invoked, they must be followed through unless there are special circumstances which justify flexibility, eg. A long period has elapsed since previous formal action was taken. In genera, formal action should always be taken where the failure is serious or where there are repeated minor failures. Where a failure which is unacceptable occurs but does not interfere with the performance of the activity, eg. Failing to notify a change of address but continuing to attend as required, the Supervising Officer may decide to caution the offender. In this case the Supervising Officer must record both the failure and the caution in the case file.
Formal Action for Other Reasons
4.11The formal action which the Supervising Officer must take to enforce the order for reasons other than not attending are the same as those set out at paragraph 4.8.
Punctuality
4.12The offender must attend when required and if he or she does not arrive on time or leaves early the Supervising Officer must be told by the contract manager within 2 working days.
4.13The Supervising Officer must follow-up punctuality problems and decide what action to take.
4.14Offenders must not be credited for time which they have not attended with the exception of the circumstances outlined at paragraph 3.26.
Failing to Report as Required to the Supervising Officer
4.15This paragraph deals with failing to attend for interviews with the Supervising Officer. This is a distinct obligation and must be distinguished from other requirements such as attending for sessions which has been covered in paragraph 4.7 above.
4.16The offender must report to the Supervising Officer (or contract manager) as and when instructed. All failures to report must be followed-up with the offender, normally within 4 working days.
4.17Following each failure, the Supervising Officer must decide what action to take in the light of the procedures outlined in paragraphs 4.8 and 4.10 above.
4.18In deciding, Supervising Officers must bear in mind that failing to report at the beginning of an order is particularly serious.
Failing to Notify a Change of Address
4.19The offender must notify the Supervising Officer without delay of any temporary or permanent change of address either directly or through the contract manager. This requirement is important for smooth administration and should help to avoid possible future absences.
4.20Where the offender is attending regularly and meeting all other requirements but does not inform the Supervising Officer of a change of address, the officer must decide what action to take.
4.21Where the Supervising Officer cannot contact the offender but has established that he or she is not living at the last given address, the officer should try to trace where he or she is living and contact him or her within 2 weeks. If contact is re-established the action to take follows the procedures set out in the previous paragraphs.
4.22If the offender has changed address without informing the Supervising Officer and cannot be traced the Supervising Officer should do the following:
aAfter One Week send a formal warning by recorded delivery and ask the offender to make immediate contact;
bAfter 2 Weeks send a final warning by recorded delivery saying that breach proceedings will be initiated in 7 days unless contact is re-established.
(See also paragraphs 5.11 for how this action may be used in breach procedures.)
4.23Where the offender does not respond to this final warning the Supervising Officer will suspend the order and initiate breach proceedings.
4.24Failing to return from an agreed temporary change of address constitutes an unauthorised change of address and must be followed-up and dealt with according to the procedures outlined above.
Failing to Notify a Change in Hours of Employment
4.25The offender must notify without delay the Supervising Officer supported by written evidence of any changes in the times when he or she is employed.
4.26Where an offender does not inform the Supervising Officer of any change (including a change in employment status) the officer must decide what action to take following the procedures set out above.
4.27In deciding, the Supervising Officer will review the offender's performance including how regularly he or she has attended and how well he or she is meeting the other requirements of the order.
Performing Activities Satisfactorily
4.28Offenders must perform the activity which they have been instructed to undertake satisfactorily. In deciding what constitutes satisfactory performance, the supervisor should use the criteria outlined in paragraph 4.3.5.
Alcohol and Drugs/Health and Safety
4.29The Supervising Officer should investigate the circumstances in which an offender has been dismissed for appearing to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol or for refusing to comply with health and safety instructions. The investigation will seek to confirm the facts and help the supervisor decide what action, if any, to take. Action should follow the procedures previously set out.
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