Armed Forces Act 2006

Community punishments

270 Community punishments: general restrictions etc

(1) A court must not award a community punishment in respect of an offence unless it is of the opinion that the offence, or the combination of the offence and one or more offences associated with it, was serious enough to warrant such a punishment.

(2) Where a court awards a community punishment—

(a) the particular requirement (or requirements) included in the order must be such as the court considers the most suitable for the offender; and

(b) the restrictions on liberty imposed by the order must be such as in the opinion of the court are commensurate with the seriousness of the offence, or the combination of the offence and one or more offences associated with it.

(3) In forming any such opinion as is mentioned in subsection (1) or (2)(b), a court must take into account all such information as is available to it about the circumstances of the offence and any associated offence, including any aggravating or mitigating factors.

(4) In forming an opinion for the purposes of subsection (2)(a) the court may take into account any information about the offender which is before it.

(5) In determining the restrictions on liberty to be imposed by a community punishment in respect of an offence, the court may have regard to any period for which the offender has, since being charged with the offence or any related offence, been kept in service custody in connection with the offence or any related offence.

(6) In subsection (5) “related offence” has the meaning given by section 247.

(7) Section 151 of the 2003 Act (community order for persistent offender previously fined) applies to a court dealing with an offender for a service offence as it applies to a civilian court in England and Wales, but as if—

(a) in subsection (1)(c), the reference to a community sentence were to a community punishment and the reference to section 143(2) of that Act were to section 238(1)(b) of this Act;

(b) in subsection (2), the reference to making a community order were to awarding a community punishment and the words “instead of imposing a fine” were omitted; and

(c) in subsection (7), the reference to section 143(2) of that Act were to section 238(1)(b) and (2) of this Act.

(8) Accordingly, subsections (1) and (2)(b) above are subject to section 151(2) of the 2003 Act as applied by this section.