Supervised Attendance Orders (SAO)
A Supervised Attendance Order (SAO) is an order which the court can impose as an alternative to custody for people who have defaulted on fines imposed for minor criminal offences. The aim of the order is to provide the court with a cost effective penalty which in effect imposes a "fine on time".
An SAO can be made for a period of between 10-100 hours. The order requires the offender to carry out a range of supervised constructive activities. These activities can range from basic practical life skills such as debt/money management to undertaking unpaid work in the community.
Since September 2007 there has been a mandatory requirement for all Scottish courts to impose an SAO rather than custody for fine defaults of £500 or less. This measure was introduced following the positive evaluation of two pilot projects based in Ayr Sheriff Court and Glasgow District Court. The aim being to reduce the number of offenders being sent to prison for low level fine default.
During the reporting period 2007-08 a total of 4,438 SAOs were made by Scottish courts. Full statistical information can be found in the Criminal Justice Social Work Statistics Bulletin 2007-08 published in December 2008.