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Produced by the Sentencing Academy

Community Orders

Key Facts and Statistics

by Annalena Wolcke

Last updated: Jun 2026

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Fact 1

A Community Order is served in the community under the supervision of probation services. People serving community orders must comply with any requirements imposed by the court. These may include unpaid work or a curfew. All community orders must include a requirement imposed for the purpose of punishment.

68,647

COMMUNITY ORDERS WERE IMPOSED IN 20251

7%

Community Orders

make up 7% of all primary
sentences imposed in
England & Wales.

Fact 2

The use of Community Orders has been declining since 20102

Fact 3

The average number of requirements attached to a Community Order in 2024 was

1.6

The average length of a Community Order in 2025 was

13.6

months3

Fact 4

Relative Frequency of Requirements
Imposed, 20254

Percent of Cases
1. Rehabilitation74%
2. Unpaid work51%
3. Drug Treatment8%
4. Accredited Programme6%
5. Alcohol Treatment6%
6. Alcohol Abstinence and Monitoring6%

Fact 5

Top 5 offences leading to
Community Orders

Individuals sentenced in 2025Proportion of cases
1. Theft from Shops (shoplifting)9,97713%
2. Driving a motor vehicle under the influence of drink or drugs8,97112%
3. Common assault and battery7,0859%
4. Assault of an emergency worker4,1215%
5. Other offences related to drink- or drug-driving3,1814%

Fact 6

8% of women, and

9% of men

received a Community Order in 2025.

Fact 7

Re-offending rates (2023)5

For all sentences: 27%

For Community Orders: 38%

For Suspended Sentence Orders: 27%

For prison sentences < 12 months: 60%

Note: The Ministry of Justice defines reoffending as any offence committed in a one-year follow-up period that leads to a court conviction, caution, reprimand, or warning.

Fact 8

Outcomes of Community Orders (2025)6

Legend:

  • Completed Successfully
  • Terminated A: Terminated early for good progress
  • Terminated B: Terminated early for failure to comply with requirements
  • Terminated C: Terminated early for conviction of new offence
  • Terminated D: Terminated early for other reasons
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This infographic is one of a series on sentencing trends in England & Wales. Others can be found here. For further information, contact Annalena Wolcke at [email protected]

  1. Facts 1, 5-6: Data calculated from Ministry of Justice (2026), Criminal Justice Statistics Quarterly: December 2025, published 30th of April. Outcomes by offence data tool, Table 2. https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/criminal-justice-statistics-quarterly-december-2025 ↩︎
  2. Fact 2: Data calculated from Ministry of Justice (2021, 2024, 2026), various Criminal justice system statistics quarterly editions. Outcomes by Offence data tool. https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/criminal-justice-statistics-quarterly.
    Note: Compensation, otherwise dealt with, and ‘disposal not known’ are excluded from the calculations. ↩︎
  3. Data sources for Fact 3:
    1) Ministry of Justice (2026), Offender management statistics quarterly: October to December 2025. Probation: October to December 2025, Table 6.7a. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/69eff92e08ecdb5c6f34b020/probation-2025.ods.

    2) Ministry of Justice (2026), Offender management statistics quarterly: October to December 2025. Probation: 2025, Table 6.2a. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/69eff92e08ecdb5c6f34b020/probation-2025.ods.al 2023, published 25 of April. Probation. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/662909cfb0ace32985a7e6ca/Probation-Oct-to-Dec-2023.ods ↩︎
  4. Data source for fact 4: Ministry of Justice (2026). Offender management statistics quarterly: October to December 2025, Probation: 2025, Table 6.7a. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/69eff92e08ecdb5c6f34b020/probation-2025.ods. ↩︎
  5. Fact 7: Data calculated from Ministry of Justice (2025). Proven reoffending statistics: October to December 2023, published 30 of October. Proven reoffending tables (3 monthly), October 2023 to December 2023, Table C1a.
    https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/proven-reoffending-statistics-october-to-december-2023 ↩︎
  6. Fact 8: Data calculated from Ministry of Justice (2026), Offender management statistics quarterly: October to December 2025, Probation: 2025, Table 6.22a. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/69eff92e08ecdb5c6f34b020/probation-2025.ods. ↩︎