Greater Manchester Probation Trust

In Courts

Probation officers provide reports to judges and magistrates on offenders appearing in magistrates’ and Crown courts in Greater Manchester, to help them make sentencing decisions. These pre-sentence reports give details about the offender, circumstances of the offence, and suitability for a range of community sentences

We aim to provide:

• Timely, high quality, verified information and assessments to assist the court's decisions in relation to remand and sentencing decisions
• A range of community orders for consideration alongside prison-based sentencing options.
• Rigorous enforcement of community orders in accordance with National Standards. If an offender fails to comply with the requirements of an order, he or she is taken back to the court. The court will then decide what action to take.

In planning and delivering probation services to the courts, we work closely with all the criminal justice agencies, with Victim Support & Witness Service and with sentencers. We also promote awareness of the range of our services and probation programmes available to the courts through regular liaison with sentencers.

Preparing reports for the Court

When an offender is convicted of a crime, the magistrate or judge can ask for a report to help them make their sentencing decision. These reports focus on:

• Offence analysis - this explores why the offence occurred, the circumstances, and the offender's thoughts and awareness of what impact the crime has had upon the victim
• Offender assessment - this examines the personal background of the offender and tries to identify any lifestyle factors that may have been influential in this offence and any pattern of offending.
• Assessment of risk - this assesses the offender's risk of re-offending and potential to cause harm to others or self
• Conclusion - this identifies, where appropriate, how a Community Order could be used to reduce the risk of the offender committing further offences. A specific proposal outlines the aims and the anticipated outcomes of the Order.

Probation staff are also responsible for preparing bail information reports which assess an offender’s suitability for bail and for arranging placements at probation hostels (approved premises).

Probation staff work in the following courts in Greater Manchester :

Crown Courts
Two Crown Courts in Manchester and one in Bolton