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Breach of post-sentence supervision

Justice, police powers and breaches — practical elements, sentencing links and station notes for accredited reps in England & Wales.

Justice, police powers and breaches

Breach of post-sentence supervision

Offender Rehabilitation Act 2014 / Sentencing Code (as charged)

England & Wales. Elements, mode of trial, maximum and defences — not a charging or outcome predictor.

Triable
See guideline / charging decision
Maximum penalty
See Sentencing Council guideline (breach powers / supervision default order)

Actus reus

  • The stored ORA 2014 s.3 link defines the supervision period. The failure-to-comply offence is the post-sentence supervision breach provision in the Criminal Justice Act 2003 (s.256AC) as applied — confirm the section on the sheet.

Mens rea

  • Failure to comply with a supervision requirement without reasonable excuse, if that is the charged provision.

Defences

Reasonable excuse · Not subject to PSS at the time · Requirement not as alleged

Sentencing Council

Sentencing Council guideline effective 1 October 2018.

View definitive guideline ↗

At the police station

Do not treat ORA s.3 as the offence. Read the charge for CJA 2003 s.256AC or the current Sentencing Code equivalent.

When to involve a rep or solicitor

Police station advice is free under legal aid and is not means-tested.

Authoritative sources for this page

Statute plus Sentencing Council (and CPS where listed) are the two primary sources we used for mode of trial, maximum and elements. Case links are from our verified registry only.

More in Justice, police powers and breaches

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Sources & further reading

Links are to official publishers (legislation, gov.uk, CPS, LAA, Sentencing Council). Case law on this site is limited to entries in our verified case-law registry. Always confirm the current version before relying on it in live advice.