ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the ways in which the criminal justice process deals with non-compliance relating to community sentences and early release in England and Wales via an examination of available research evidence and statistics. It explores the context in which breach processes operate highlighting how the enforcement of both community sentences and early release decisions has been a key concern of government in recent decades. It suggests that what successful enforcement looks like is open to debate partly because a lack of detailed data and very limited empirical research hampers greater knowledge and understanding. The links between compliance, breach and desistance are also not well understood. The chapter suggests that current breach processes in England and Wales fail to take account of the complexity of compliance decision-making and the importance of having a process and outcome which is viewed as legitimate. It concludes by arguing that without improving the evidence base, breach policies and practices will remain a contested area of criminal justice where increasingly punitive and inflexible attitudes prevail.
