Breach of Suspended Sentence Order (Schedule 16 Sentencing Act 2020)

Sentencing Act 2020, Sch. 16

Either way
Activation of the suspended sentence with its original term or a lesser term, which the court must order unless it would be unjust; otherwise a fine not exceeding £2,500, more onerous community requirements, extension of the supervision or operational period, or committal to prison for up to 28 days (orders qualifying for special procedures, offender aged 18 or over) (Sentencing Act 2020, Schedule 16, paras 13(1) and 14(1))

Definition

This paragraph applies where, during the supervision period of an order subject to magistrates' court supervision, it appears on information to a justice of the peace that the offender has breached any community requirement of the order. The justice may (a) issue a summons requiring the offender to appear at the place and time specified in it, or (b) if the information is in writing and on oath, issue a warrant for the offender's arrest. (Sentencing Act 2020, Schedule 16, para 8(1) and (2)) This paragraph applies where, during the supervision period of a Crown Court order, it appears on information to the Crown Court that the offender has breached any community requirement of the order. The Crown Court may (a) issue a summons requiring the offender to appear at the place and time specified in it, or (b) if the information is in writing and on oath, issue a warrant for the offender's arrest. (Sentencing Act 2020, Schedule 16, para 9(1) and (2)) This sub-paragraph applies where the offender (a) has been convicted of an offence committed during the operational period of the suspended sentence order, and (b) the suspended sentence has not taken effect. (Sentencing Act 2020, Schedule 16, para 12(3))

Points to prove

A suspended sentence order is in force
either the offender has breached a community requirement of the order without reasonable excuse, proved to the satisfaction of the court (paras 10(1)(b) and 12(2)(b))
or the offender has been convicted of an offence committed during the operational period of the order and the suspended sentence has not taken effect (paras 11(1) and 12(3))

Breach of a suspended sentence order is not an offence but a breach proceeding under Schedule 16 to the Sentencing Act 2020. It arises in two ways: breach of a community requirement of the order during the supervision period, and conviction of an offence committed during the operational period where the suspended sentence has not taken effect (Sch. 16, paras 8 to 12). Where the responsible officer is of the opinion that the offender has without reasonable excuse breached a community requirement, the officer must give a warning or refer the matter to an enforcement officer, and must refer it where a warning has been given within the previous 12 months (para 6). The enforcement officer may cause an information to be laid before a justice of the peace or the Crown Court (para 7), on which a summons or, if the information is in writing and on oath, a warrant for the offender's arrest may be issued (paras 8 and 9). The proceeding may come before a magistrates' court or the Crown Court according to which court made the order and whether it directed that breach be dealt with by a magistrates' court (paras 3, 10, 11 and 12); there is no mode of trial as such. Where the court deals with the case it must do one of the following: order the suspended sentence to take effect with its original term unaltered; order it to take effect with a lesser term; order a fine not exceeding £2,500; where the order imposes community requirements, impose more onerous requirements or extend the supervision or operational period; where the order qualifies for special procedures and the offender is aged 18 or over, commit the offender to prison for not more than 28 days; or, where the order imposes no community requirement, extend the operational period (para 13(1)). The court must make an activation order under para 13(1)(a) or (b) unless it is of the opinion that it would be unjust to do so in view of all the circumstances, including the extent of the offender's compliance and the facts of any subsequent offence, and where it is of that opinion must state its reasons (para 14).

In practice

Breach of a suspended sentence is not a separate criminal offence but a breach proceeding under Schedule 16 to the Sentencing Act 2020. The suspect must be cautioned in accordance with Code C PACE 1984 before any questions about the breach are put to them.

Last updated 20 October 2026. Reviewed 20 October 2026

Mode of trial: Either way
Maximum sentence: Activation of the suspended sentence with its original term or a lesser term, which the court must order unless it would be unjust; otherwise a fine not exceeding £2,500, more onerous community requirements, extension of the supervision or operational period, or committal to prison for up to 28 days (orders qualifying for special procedures, offender aged 18 or over) (Sentencing Act 2020, Schedule 16, paras 13(1) and 14(1))
Act and section: Sentencing Act 2020, Sch. 16
Power of arrest: Where during the supervision period it appears on information to a justice of the peace (order subject to magistrates' court supervision) or to the Crown Court (Crown Court order) that the offender has breached a community requirement of the order, a summons may be issued or, if the information is in writing and on oath, a warrant for the offender's arrest, and where the offender does not appear in answer to a summons the court may issue a warrant for the offender's arrest (Sentencing Act 2020, Schedule 16, paras 8(2) and (4) and 9(2) and (4)); where an offender convicted of an offence committed during the operational period has not been dealt with in respect of the suspended sentence, the Crown Court, or a justice of the peace on information in writing and on oath, may issue a summons or a warrant for the offender's arrest (paras 19(2) and 20(2) and (3)). Breach of the order is not itself an offence; the power of arrest without warrant in PACE s.24 is a power to arrest for an offence and is not engaged by the breach itself, though it applies in its own right to any further offence committed during the operational period (Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, s.24(1) to (3)).
Search on arrest: A constable may search an arrested person, where the person has been arrested at a place other than a police station, if the constable has reasonable grounds for believing that the arrested person may present a danger to himself or others, and may search the person for anything which might be used to assist an escape from lawful custody or which might be evidence relating to an offence (Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, s.32(1) and (2)(a)). The powers to enter and search premises under s.32(2)(b) and s.18(1) are confined to arrest for an indictable offence, and the PACE s.1 stop and search power attaches only to the articles and offences listed in s.1(2) and (7) to (8B); breach of a suspended sentence order is not itself an offence (Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, ss.1, 18(1) and 32(2)(b)).
Detention clock: A warrant issued for breach must direct the offender to be brought before the court responsible for an order subject to review, a magistrates' court acting in the local justice area where the offender resides, or the Crown Court for a Crown Court order (Sentencing Act 2020, Schedule 16, paras 8(3) and 9(3)); a warrant issued after a further conviction must direct the offender to be brought before the Crown Court or the court by which the suspended sentence was passed (paras 19(3) and 20(4)). A magistrates' court before which an offender subject to a Crown Court order appears may commit the offender to custody or release the offender on bail until the offender can be brought before the Crown Court (paras 10(3)(b) and 11(2)(a)). The limits in PACE ss.41 to 44 on police detention without charge (24 hours from the relevant time, extendable only where an offence for which the person is under arrest is an indictable offence) are framed around an offence for which the person has been arrested (Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, ss.41(1), 42(1)(b) and 43(4)(b)); breach of a suspended sentence order is not itself an offence.
Source: www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2020/17/schedule/16