Community Services

By Okwanga Vincent
Principal State Attorney

Community service as a sentencing option is a new concept in our criminal justice system in Uganda. It was introduced in Uganda through the enactment of the community service Act, 2000. The promulgation of the community service regulation (SI - 55/2001), paved the way for certain gazetted courts in Uganda to apply community service orders (Pilot phase).

The programme was officially launched by the issuing of community service orders in October 2001 as a pilot program in four magisterial areas of Mpigi, Masaka, Masindi and Mukono. The pilot phase ran from May 2001 to May 2003. The nationwide rollout took place in March 2004, following the gazetting of all courts in Uganda by the Chief Justice. As a result all courts of judicature in Uganda can now apply community service order as a court sentence.

What is Community Service?
Community Service Order is a non-custodial punishment by which after conviction, the court with the consent of the offender makes an order for the offender to serve the community rather than undergo imprisonment. Community Service (CS) order, as a court sentence is to operate as an alternative to custodial (imprisonment) sentence. When serving community service order, the offender does the work personally - i.e. the offender (Convict) cannot delegate the work to his servant nor can he hire someone else to serve the punishment on his/her behalf. (S.2 (a) Community Service Act)

Process of issuing Community Service Order by the court
Before issuing out a CS Order, the convicting Court will consider the pre-sentence report, which will have been compiled by the investigating officer on Police Form 103. This form is usually attached in the Police File and contains very useful information about the offender, which assists the Court to determine whether the offender is a suitable candidate for CS Order,or not. Before passing CS Order, the Court carefully considers the circumstances, character and antecedent of the offender and asks him or her whether he or she consents to the order (S.3 (2) CS Act 2000). The Court is further obliged to explain to the offender in the language he or she understands, the effect of the order and that if he or she fails in any respect to comply with it, he or she may be liable to be sentenced to such term of imprisonment as the court could have imposed in respect of the offence. The Community Service Order shall be performed for a period of not more than Six months, and the offender shall not work for more than eight hours a day (S.4 (i) CS Act). Community Service Order can only be issued by the court in respect to a minor offence i.e. an offence for which the court may pass a sentence of not more than 2 years imprisonment. Various factors led to the introduction of community service in Uganda notably: -

• The congestion of our prisons;
• High costs of feeding the prisoners in Government prisons;
• The tendency of many ex-prisoners not reforming even after successfully serving their prison sentences;
• The need to treat convicted offender with dignity and thus apply the acceptable international standards of treating offender;
• Protection and preservation of the human rights and the dignity of the offender;
• Apart from the cost-saving benefits of feeding prisoners, community service benefits the community in that the offender serving community orders gives free service which benefits the community where he lives.

All placement institutions i.e. the place where an offender is to serve his community service order are public institutions or community projects where the offender gives free labour which would benefit every member of the public or community.

• One convicted of a minor offence;
• Has consented to serve CS Order;
• A first offender (not habitual offender);
• Willing to reconcile with the victim;
• One who is physically able and possesses the skill necessary to perform the type of work directed to be performed in the CS Order.

When serving CS Order, the quantum of work to be performed by the offender shall be computed in terms of work-hours but not volume of work; that is the offender performs the specified piece of work in terms of hours per-day of work, rather than the amount of work. On being sentenced to CS Order the offender shall report to the supervising officer named in the order. It is the duty of the supervising officer/placement institution to provide the working tools and materials for the offender to use while serving CS Order.

A female offender shall be supervised by a female supervisor (S.9 (3) CS Act). Where the offender commits an offence outside his/her usual area of residence, the CS Order shall be served in his/her usual area of residence.

Where in the course of serving the order the offender changes residence outside the jurisdiction of the Court, the supervising Court shall make appropriate amendments in the CS Order and inform the Court having jurisdiction for the area where the offender intends to go and give a copy of the amended CS Order to the supervising Court (i.e. the Court in the new jurisdiction).

When the offender absconds or fails to comply with the requirements of the CS Order, the Court shall, on report by the supervising officer issue a summons requiring the offender to appear before it, and if proved to the satisfaction of the supervising Court that the offender has failed to comply with any of the requirements of the CS Order, the Court may either vary the order to suit the circumstances of the case or impose a fine not exceeding three currency points or cancel the order and sentence the offender to any punishment which could have been imposed in respect of the offence.

It is an offence for the supervising officer to employ the offender for his/her personal benefit. On conviction such a supervising officer is liable to a fine not exceeding ten currency points. (S.6 (5) CS Act 2002).

An offender who commits another offence while serving a CS Order Where an offender serving a sentence of CS Order commits another offence during period he is serving CS Order and the subsequent Court has sentenced him to imprisonment for that offence, (i. e. The offence on which the subsequent Court has convicted him), the subsequent Court may either add to the sentence imposed a further term of imprisonment which might have been passed by original Court and cancel the order of CS, or take into account the period of CS served in reduction of the additional imprisonment. Where the original Court was the High Court and the subsequent Court is a subordinate Court, the subordinate Court shall send the copy of the proceedings to the High Court, which shall proceed in the manner aforementioned as if it were the subsequent Court. Where the original Court was a subordinate Court, and the subsequent Court is the High Court dealing with the matter at first instance or on appeal or otherwise, the High Court shall proceed under paragraphs (a) and (b) of section 7 CS Act.

It is also possible for the subsequent Court to pass a sentence other than imprisonment and order the offender to continue undergoing community service (See S.7 CS Act 2000). By 10th August 2005, the number of CS orders issued by our Courts was 2,837 country wide