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5. Probation Orders with a Requirement of Unpaid Work (Charts 16 and 17, Tables 5.1 to 5.4)
5.1 These orders represent a subset of the data on all Probation Orders presented previously. A total of 2,499 POs with a Requirement of Unpaid Work were made in 2006-07. This represents a decrease of 7 per cent from the 2005-06 total of 2,692 orders.
Chart 16: POs with a Requirement of Unpaid Work, 2004-05 to 2006-07
5.2 Male offenders accounted for 87 per cent of Probation Orders with a Requirement of Unpaid Work. The incidence of POs was highest amongst 18 to 20 year olds (28.4 per 10,000 population) and was also relatively common amongst 16 to 17 year olds (24.5) and 21 to 25 year olds (15.2).
5.3 Male offenders receiving these orders tended to be younger than female offenders. Thirty-seven per cent of males were aged 20 or under, compared to 25 per cent of females.
Chart 17: Number of POs (1) with a Requirement of Unpaid Work by Age and Gender of Offender, 2006-07
Orders per 10,000 population
1. Includes a small number of orders relating to offenders aged under 16 years.
5.4 The average length of the unpaid work condition was 132 hours in 2006-07, a slight decrease from 139 hours in 2005-06. On average, males (134 hours) received longer orders than females (123 hours).
5.5 As discussed in paragraphs 3.6 and 4.7, the employment status of offenders provides an indication of their availability. Sixty-five per cent of POs with a Requirement of Unpaid Work were for offenders who were unemployed or not seeking employment. This proportion was higher for females (75 per cent) than males (64 per cent).
Breach Applications of Probation Orders with a Requirement of Unpaid Work
5.6 There were 1,157 breach applications made to the Courts in 2006-07 in respect of POs with a Requirement of Unpaid Work, an increase of 4 per cent compared to the 2005-06 total of 1,110 applications. In 2006-07, the condition of unpaid work was breached in 537 (46 per cent of these) 1,157 cases.
5.7 Males accounted for 89 per cent of breach applications. Fourteen per cent of breach applications resulted in the original order being revoked and custody being imposed, 11 per cent resulted in the order being revoked and a new probation order imposed, 2 per cent in the order being revoked and a community service order being imposed and 7 per cent in the order being revoked and some other action taken (including a monetary penalty). In 17 per cent of applications, the original order was continued and no further action taken by the court. The outcome was not yet known in 33 per cent of applications.
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