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Research Article

Suspended Sentence Orders in England & Wales

Eleanor Curzon
Professor Julian Roberts KC (Hon)

September 2021

Read the full report on the Sentencing Hub: Suspended Sentence Orders in England & Wales: A Review of Recent Research and Developments

Executive Summary

  • The Suspended Sentence Order (SSO) is a custodial sentence option available to magistrates and judges in England and Wales. Providing the custody threshold has been crossed and the term of imprisonment imposed is at least 14 days and not more than two years in duration, the courts can decide to suspend the sentence of imprisonment. This allows an offender to serve their sentence of imprisonment in the community rather than in custody.
  • An SSO can be imposed unconditionally or with requirements. There are 15 requirements which can be imposed, either alone or in combination. The cost of imposing an SSO, which is monitored by the Probation Service, is far less than the cost of immediate custody, approximately £3,100 compared to £53,000 (2023-2024) per year.
  • The use of the SSO in the last fifteen years has remained relatively stable, imposed on 4-5% of offenders sentenced each year across all courts.
  • The existing Sentencing Council ‘Imposition of community and custodial sentences’ guideline (2017) emphasises that a suspended sentence ‘must not be imposed as a more severe form of community order’. This is re-emphasised in the updated proposed imposition guideline due to come into force on 1 September 2025, an entire section of which is dedicated to the SSO. The current limited research on the use of SSOs indicates that the SSO is sometimes imposed in cases where the custody threshold has not been crossed. Further research is required in this area to address why individuals who should receive a lesser sentence are receiving the more severe sanction of the SSO, an effect referred to as a ‘net-widening.’
  • There continues to be little current research on the SSO. Additional research is needed to better understand breach rates, the deterrent effect of the SSO, the relationship between SSOs and deferred sentencing, the efficacy of requirements in reducing reoffending and the impact, if any, the new imposition guideline (due to come into force in September 2025) will have on the use of SSOs. The extent to which technology can be used to expand the range of available SSO requirements, enhance their efficacy and improve the monitoring of breach rates also merits exploration. The recent Ministry of Justice published Gauke Review (2025) recommends the use of more community-based sentences and an extending of the upper limit for imposing an SSO from two to three years, a recommendation which is endorsed in the recent Leveson Review (2025). If these recommendations are to be implemented, it is critical to better understand the SSO.

Read the report here.