Surrey Probation Area

All criminal cases commence in the magistrates' court and 97% of cases are dealt with in their entirety by magistrates.  Each case will usually be heard by three magistrates who will be given advice by a qualified legal adviser.

If the case is more serious, eg murder, rape, serious assaults, the magistrates will refer the case to the Crown Court where it will be heard by a Judge and a jury will decide on guilt or innocence.

There are four options open to the court:

• discharges
• fines
• community sentences
• custody

Before deciding on the most appropriate punishment, the court may ask probation staff to prepare a report on the offender, setting out their recommendations. Probation staff provide information to courts to help magistrates and judges make decisions about sentencing.  According to the type of report that the sentencers need, they may be able to pass sentence on the day of the first hearing.  If they need a more detailed report, usually for a more serious offence, the offender may have to return on another day for sentencing.

Standard Delivery Report

A Standard Delivery Report (SDR) is usually requested when the offence is relatively serious, the offender poses a risk to others or if they have offended before. It can take up to three weeks to prepare.

The SDR will look at the reasons why the person committed the offence, their attitude to any victims and other culpability factors, including inflicting more damage or suffering than was necessary in the course of the offence or targeting a particularly vulnerable victim.

The report will also look at any mitigating factors. In compiling the report the offender will be interviewed by a Probation Officer. As part of the report process the officer will carry out an assessment of the offender's risk of harm and risk of reconviction before outlining a proposal to be put before the Court.

Fast Delivery Reports

A Fast Delivery Report (FDR) is less detailed and takes less time to complete than an SDR.  It is not suitable for sentencing offenders that have committed more serious offences or whose risk of harm or reconviction is high.

Where possible, we aim to complete an FDR on the day of the hearing but we have up to five days to submit the report if necessary.

Oral Report

Sentencers can ask for a short oral report from the probation representative in court. This will be requested only in cases of low seriousness offences and where the offender has no previous convictions.