Study reveals how community sentences vary by ethnicity and sex

A new Data Insight by ADR UK Research Fellow Dr Angela Sorsby highlights significant differences in how community orders are imposed and completed across ethnic and sex groups in England and Wales.

What are community orders?

Community orders are sentences served in the community and managed by the Probation Service. They include requirements such as unpaid work, curfews, and rehabilitation, and aim to reduce reoffending without resorting to custody. These are the most serious non-custodial sentences in England and Wales.

How the study was conducted

The analysis used the Data First: Cross-justice system dataset (specifically the probation dataset), focusing on 224,000 cases from 2018 to 2020. Logistic regression was used to explore the relationship between ethnicity, sex, and the type and outcome of community orders. Key factors such as age, offence type, deprivation, and criminal history were controlled for in the analysis.

Key findings

• White offenders were more likely to receive rehabilitation activity requirements than all other ethnic groups
  • Black men were 32% less likely than white men to receive one
• Unpaid work was more likely to be given to ethnic minority groups
  • Women in the ‘Other’ ethnic group were 165% more likely than white women to receive unpaid work
• Curfews were less likely for some ethnic minority groups, especially Asian and Chinese men and Asian women
• Completion rates were higher among many minority groups compared to white offenders:
  • Asian men were 33% more likely than white men to complete their orders successfully
  • Asian women were 35% more likely to do so than white women
• Men overall were 17% less likely than women to successfully complete their orders.

Why it matters

The findings show that even when controlling for other factors, disparities in how community orders are used persist. White offenders are more likely to receive rehabilitative requirements, while ethnic minority offenders are more likely to receive the punitive requirement of unpaid work. At the same time, the analysis indicates white people are more likely to receive a punitive curfew than some other groups.

The results also suggest that Angela’s previous findings around ethnic disparities in custodial sentencing are unlikely to be explained by differences between groups in completing community sentences.             

Next steps

Further research is needed to understand the reasons behind these disparities. Upcoming work could use additional data, such as offender risk assessments, and explore long-term outcomes like reoffending and whether failure to complete an order increases the likelihood of prison.

Read the full Data Insight.