Sentencing Act 2020

Amendment of requirements of community order

18 (1) The appropriate court may, on the application of the offender or an officer of a provider of probation services, amend a community order—

(a) by cancelling any of the requirements of the order, or

(b) by replacing any of those requirements with a requirement of the same kind which the court could include if the offender had just been convicted by or before it of the offence in respect of which the order was made and it were then making the order.

(2) For the purposes of sub-paragraph (1)(b)—

(a) requirements are of the same kind if they fall within the same entry in column 1 of the table in section 201, and

(b) an electronic compliance monitoring requirement is a requirement of the same kind as any requirement within that table to which it relates.

(3) No application may be made under this paragraph while an appeal against the community order is pending, other than an application which—

(a) relates to a treatment requirement, and

(b) is made by an officer of a provider of probation services with the offender’s consent.

(4) Before exercising its powers under this paragraph, the court must summon the offender to appear before it, unless—

(a) the application was made by the offender, or

(b) the court would exercise the powers only to—

(i) cancel a requirement of the community order,

(ii) replace any such requirement with one of a shorter duration, or

(iii) substitute a new place for one specified in the order.

(5) If the offender fails to appear in answer to a summons under sub-paragraph (4) the court may issue a warrant for the offender’s arrest.

(6) Sub-paragraph (1)(b) has effect subject to any provision that applies to the court in making a community order as if the court were imposing the requirements on making the order.

(7) The court may not under this paragraph amend a treatment requirement unless the offender expresses willingness to comply with the requirement as amended.

(8) If the offender fails to express willingness to comply with a treatment requirement as proposed to be amended under this paragraph, the court may—

(a) revoke the community order, and

(b) re-sentence the offender for the offence in respect of which the order was made.

(9) If the court deals with the offender under sub-paragraph (8)(b), it—

(a) must take into account the extent to which the offender has complied with the requirements of the order, and

(b) may impose a custodial sentence even if it is not of the opinion mentioned in section 230(2) (general restrictions on imposing discretionary custodial sentences).