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Breach of a suspended sentence order

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 a suspended sentence order

Sentencing Code (suspended sentence breach provisions)

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

Triable
See guideline / charging decision
Maximum penalty
Maximum of 112 hours in any period of 7 days

Actus reus

  • Breach of a community requirement of a suspended sentence, or conviction of a further offence during the operational period (Sentencing Code s.286 and Schedule 16). Again, process more than a stand-alone offence.

Mens rea

  • Failure to comply without reasonable excuse, or a further conviction. Activation is a sentencing decision.

Defences

Reasonable excuse for the requirement breach · No further offence in the operational period · Order not as alleged

Sentencing Council

Sentencing Council guideline effective 1 October 2018.

View definitive guideline ↗

At the police station

Get the suspended-sentence order and operational dates. Activation risk is the advice point, not a new maximum.

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

Back to the full offences index

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.