Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995

239 Community service orders: requirements

(1) An offender in respect of whom a community service order is in force shall—

(a) report to the local authority officer and notify him without delay of any change of address or in the times, if any, at which he usually works; and

(b) perform for the number of hours specified in the order such work at such times as the local authority officer may instruct.

(2) Subject to section 240(1) of this Act, the work required to be performed under a community service order shall be performed during the period of 12 months beginning with the date of the order; but, unless revoked, the order shall remain in force until the offender has worked under it for the number of hours specified in it.

(3) The instructions given by the local authority officer under this section shall, so far as practicable, be such as to avoid any conflict with the offender’s religious beliefs and any interference with the times, if any, at which he normally works or attends a school or other educational establishment.

(4) If at any time while a community service order is in force in respect of any offender it appears to the appropriate court, on information from the local authority officer, that that offender has failed to comply with any of the requirements of subsections (1) to (3) above (including any failure satisfactorily to perform the work which he has been instructed to do), that court may issue a warrant for the arrest of that offender, or may, if it thinks fit, instead of issuing a warrant in the first instance issue a citation requiring that offender to appear before that court at such time as may be specified in the citation.

(5) If it is proved to the satisfaction of the court before which an offender appears or is brought in pursuance of subsection (4) above that he has failed without reasonable excuse to comply with any of the requirements of the said subsections (1) to (3), that court may—

(a) without prejudice to the continuance in force of the order, impose on him a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale;

(b) revoke the order and deal with that offender in any manner in which he could have been dealt with for the original offence by the court which made the order if the order had not been made; or

(c) subject to section 238(1) of this Act, vary the number of hours specified in the order.

(6) The evidence of one witness shall, for the purposes of subsection (5) above, be sufficient evidence.