What is a Pre-Sentence Report and what can I expect from my meeting with the Probation Service?

By Ben Baker

In many cases where somebody is convicted of a criminal offence, either after trial or by virtue of their guilty plea, the court will direct that a Pre-Sentence Report (PSR) is prepared by the Probation Service.

What is a PSR?

A PSR is a document designed to inform the court about a defendant’s personal background, as well as to also provide insight into the circumstances surrounding the defendant’s offending.

The PSR will likely detail the following categories:

• Personal background of the defendant, including their circumstances prior to the offending, family circumstances, education and employment, financial situation, physical and mental health conditions, alcohol or substance misuse, and living arrangements;

  
  

• Details of the offence, including what happened, information as to why the offence took place, how the defendant feels about their role in the offending and whether they accept any responsibility. This includes whether the defendant shows any genuine insight, understanding and remorse as a result of their behaviour;

  
  

• Risk assessment in terms of likelihood of reoffending (known as ‘recidivism’), and any risk posed to both specific people (such as those involved in the case, prison staff, Probation staff etc.) and the general public.

The Report will provide an opinion as to whether the defendant can be safely managed in the community, and whether any programs in the Probation Service’s arsenal are capable of aiding in rehabilitation and reducing the likelihood of reoffending.

How will I be told when my PSR appointment is?

Following the hearing at which you either pleaded guilty or were found guilty after trial, a member of Probation will speak to you to confirm your contact details. You should then expect to receive a phone call, email or text message to give you your appointment date and time within a week.  If you have not received your appointment, you should contact your local Probation office to find out your appointment date or the Probation office at the Court. 

 

I was given a PSR appointment online/by telephone, but nobody contacted me on the day. Should I forget about it or should I take action?

The Probation Service are stretched thin, and sometimes appointments might fall through the cracks. It is important to raise this with your Solicitor, as should the Probation Service have the wrong contact information or should an administrative error have been made, they might inform the court that you have failed to co-operate with them (known in criminal law as a ‘nil report’). Your Solicitor will be able to contact the Probation Service on your behalf to ensure that proper arrangements are put in place and that they are aware you are keen to co-operate with the PSR process.

If your appointment was booked for an in-person meeting, you should still attend in good time as you may not receive a reminder or confirmation on the date of your appointment. If you are running late, or unable to attend for good reason (e.g. a hospital appointment or last-minute childcare issues), make sure to inform the Probation Officer dealing with your appointment urgently and preferably by following up in writing. You should also notify your Solicitor.

 

What can I expect at my PSR meeting with Probation?

The meeting will take place in-person, online or by telephone. The Probation Officer conducting your meeting will want to talk to you about the various areas identified above, so be prepared to discuss matters which may be of a highly personal nature. It is also a good idea to have to hand a list of any medical conditions and prescriptions you might be taking, as this will not only help them understand you as a person, but also to identify whether there are any requirements which may not be suitable as a result of your health issues.

You can expect to be asked about your upbringing, family life and living arrangements. The Probation Service will also seek to gauge the levels of insight and remorse you have about your offending, so it is a good idea to approach these meetings with an open an honest mindset. If you genuinely feel sorry for what you have done, and you know that you are able to show understanding as to why this happened and what the impact on others has been, make sure to have that conversation. If you do not mention anything along these lines despite honestly feeling them, there is a risk that the report will conclude that you have not taken an appropriate level of responsibility for your wrongdoing.  Further, any lack of remorse might also increase Probation’s estimate of the harm you pose to the public.  That will impact the likelihood of an immediate custodial sentence, where Probation conclude there is little they can do to safely manage you in the community.,

 

Will my Solicitor be present in this interview, in the same way they were present in my police interview?

No, legal representatives are not present in these interviews. You should, however, ask your lawyer to explain the PSR interview process to you in advance so that you know what to expect and how to get the most out of the interview process.

 

When will the PSR be ready?

Whilst we would like to see the report as early as possible, it is commonplace that the report is generally only available in the day or two leading up to the sentence hearing.  It is therefore important that all other areas of mitigation are ready in advance so that you can focus on the PSR with your Solicitor in preparation for the hearing. 

Who gets to see the PSR once it has been written?

The PSR will be provided to your defence lawyers, as well as on the Court and the prosecution. Any issues within the report will be dealt with at your sentencing hearing. If you feel that there are any inaccuracies or errors in the report, it is important to notify your Solicitor so that arrangements can be made for the report to be corrected, or for your representative to address these inaccuracies during the sentencing hearing.

What might Probation recommend I do in the community?

The Probation Service has under its purview a wide range of programs and requirements which might be deployed to maximise chances of successful rehabilitation. The Probation Service must also factor in their recommendations a punitive element. Examples of rehabilitative recommendations can include:

• Alcohol or drug treatment requirements, aimed at helping defendants reduce and eliminate their addiction or reliance on these substances, especially likely in cases where the offending is directly related to abuse of alcohol or drugs;

  
  

• Activity days, for example, attending group sessions or 1-1 meetings with Probation to educate the defendant about the risks of reoffending, and identifying the underlying causes of that offending so that these may be eliminated or avoided in future.

Examples of punitive recommendations may be:

• Community payback requirements, such as cleaning, litter picking, unpaid work;

  
  

•  Electronically monitored curfew hours.

My PSR recommends that I should go to prison. Is this normal?

No. Whilst a PSR may make recommendations as to the programs available outside of prison, the ultimate sentence imposed is the decision of the court and the court alone. If a report makes a recommendation that you should be sent straight to prison, you should raise this with your Solicitor urgently as it is likely that this will need to be reviewed by a senior Probation Officer.

If you require advice or further information in relation to anything raised in this article, please contact our team.

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