What were Community-service orders? by John Harding
Fifty years ago, on 2nd January 1973, Mr Justice James, who’d been the judge at the Great Train Robbery trial, made the first community-service order in the world, at Nottingham Crown Court. These orders are still issued today. That first order – 120 hours of service – was given to Peter, a university student and cannabis-supplier. I was the senior probation officer responsible for setting up community service in Nottinghamshire. It was a Home Office pilot scheme to test the viability of the sanction as an alternative to a shorter period of prison. Community service was the brainchild of a Home Office Advisory Council Committee, chaired by Baroness Wootton. She believed community service offered an offender the opportunity to undertake constructive activity in the community, gain new skills and make amends. It was made available in both Magistrates’ Courts and Crown Courts. The range of service hours was between 4...
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