An examination of the community service order in Ireland: recommendations for change

This thesis explores what a Community Service Order (CSO) is in Ireland and how it operates in practice. It identifies issues and problems with the sanction in its current form and suggests changes that could be made to enhance its use and divert a greater number of offenders away from sentences of imprisonment. The thesis begins by providing clarity as to what a CSO was when it was first introduced in Ireland. It does this by first describing the original concept of community service as a penal sanction and then by showing how the sanction that became operational in Ireland differed from the original concept. Once it has set out what the CSO was when it was first introduced in Ireland, the thesis goes on to examine all of the operational and legislative changes that have been made to the sanction over the years in order to set out what the CSO has now become. It also examines, in detail, how the sanction currently operates in Ireland, from when a CSO is first contemplated by a judge right through to the completion of the order. This allows for issues and problems with the sanction in its current form, and as it currently operates, to be identified. This part of the thesis is informed by interviews with Probation Officers and Community Service Supervisors. The thesis then examines community service sanctions that are operational in England and Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. This is done for the purpose of identifying possible solutions to the issues and problems with the Irish CSO and also to highlight approaches that should be avoided when reforming the CSO in Ireland. Based on this analysis as well as international criminological research on desistance and recidivism, the thesis concludes by making a series of recommendations as to how the Irish CSO could be amended to increase its use and its ability to divert a greater number of offenders away from prison.