community sentencing

Meaning

1. 1noununcountablelegallaw

   The practice of punishing offenders with unpaid work, treatment, or supervision in the community instead of sending them to prison.

   Grammar: Uncountable: you say community sentencing, not a community sentencing or community sentencings.

   Patterns

   • community sentencing for something
   • use community sentencing
   • a community sentencing order

   The judge decided that community sentencing was more appropriate than a short prison term.

   Community sentencing can include unpaid work, curfews, and electronic tagging.

   The government wants to expand community sentencing to reduce pressure on prisons.

Common combinations

community sentencing order

He was given a community sentencing order requiring 200 hours of unpaid work.

use community sentencing

Courts increasingly use community sentencing for non-violent offenses.

community sentencing for minor offenses

Community sentencing for minor offenses saves money and may reduce reoffending.

Synonyms and how they differ

community service

Community service usually means only unpaid work; community sentencing is broader and can include supervision, treatment, or curfews.

non-custodial sentence

Non-custodial sentence is a more general legal term for any punishment that does not involve prison.

Opposites

Word family

sentence verb

To officially punish someone with a particular penalty.

sentencing noun

The process of deciding a punishment in court.

Commonly confused: community sentencing or community service?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “community sentencing”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

Explore more words