Most offenders serve their sentence in the community. But what does community work involve?

In September, after a trial that captivated the country, retired eye surgeon Philip Polkinghorne was found not guilty of murdering his wife, Pauline Hanna.

But in November, he was sentenced to 150 hours of community work for drug possession.

Polkinghorne's defence suggested he be fined roughly $650, Justice Graham Lang said. The maximum fine able to be set was $1000.

But given the Auckland doctor's "healthy financial situation", Lang said, "a fine would have no deterrent effect at all, and would not be sufficient to hold you properly accounted for your offending".

We don't know where Polkinghorne will do his community work. But like most offenders, his sentence will be served in the community rather than in prison.

What's involved in community work?

It's one of a number of sentences and orders that can be served in the community. As the name suggests, it involves doing unpaid work.

The Sentencing Act 2002 sets out the hierarchy of sentences and orders, from the least to most restrictive. The least restrictive is discharge, or order to come up for sentence if called on. So, no sentence imposed. Fines and payments are next. Then, community-based sentences of community work and supervision, followed by intensive supervision and community detention. On the next line: home detention. The most restrictive? Imprisonment, of course.

Department of Corrections' chief probation officer Toni Stewart said people subject to community work carry out a wide range of supervised work benefiting local communities.

"Projects can range from building bench seats for parks, to planting native trees and growing vegetables for donation, to making thermal blankets from recycled chip packets."

It's up to the relevant probation officer to determine the work an offender will do. The officer will consider things like the offence the person has committed, their personal circumstances, as well as their needs and skills.

If an offender has an organisation in mind, they can discuss that with their probation officer.

The work is either done in a work party, supervised by community probation staff (this is called a centre placement), or on an individual basis through placement at an agency.

By the numbers

In the last financial year, there were more than 30,000 community-based sentences being served (an offender can be serving more than one at any time), according to data released on 7 November by Statistics New Zealand. Meanwhile, fewer than 10,000 people were in prison.

Community-based offenders were most likely to have traffic offences as their most serious convictions (24 percent) followed by acts intended to cause injury (20 percent), and offences against justice (11 percent), according to Corrections.

A prisoner's most serious offence was most likely to be sexual assault (21 percent) followed by acts intended to cause injury (20 percent), and burglary (11 percent).

And people in both groups were most likely to be men aged 30 to 39. Just under half of community-based offenders, and just over half of prisoners, were Māori.

In 2023, offenders across the country completed more than 660,000 hours of community work.

How quickly can an offender complete their sentence?

Community work sentences can range from 40 to 400 hours.

Offenders are encouraged to complete their hours as quickly as possible, within limits. They can only work up to 10 hours a day, or up to 40 hours in any one week. And they must complete at least 100 hours every six months, or the remaining balance of their sentence.

Chris Wilkinson-Smith, the immediate past president of the Criminal Bar Association and litigation lawyer for more than 25 years, knows of people who have been sentenced to close to 400 hours.

Often, offenders are also in full-time work and have families.

"That's where this becomes a real punishment," he said. "The small amount of spare time they have is taken up by community work."

If an offender is sentenced to 80 or more hours, the court can allow up to 20 percent of those hours to be spent learning basic work and living skills, such as cooking, driving, budgeting, and so on.

Can you choose your placement?

Probation officers will consider an offender's previous work history along with factors such as "compliance, risk level, gang affiliations, and any health issues", Stewart said.

"We also consider factors like any current employment and family obligations when scheduling community work hours."

Offenders can suggest a particular charity or volunteer organisation that's looking for assistance, Wilkinson-Smith said.

But some groups aren't comfortable hosting an offender, he said. And a placement can't be seen as a "soft option".

"It has to be genuine work."

Cases where an offender has specialised skills, and a team is required to help them perform those skills (such as surgery, for example), can be more difficult, he said.

"If all parties are willing, perhaps there's a possibility ... 150 hours of specialised service is a valuable thing."

For decades, from the 1980s, Wellingtonian Russell Taylor managed and supervised community offenders. He told RNZ in his experience, offenders - and the community - got the most out of placements that were tailored to an individual's skills and interests.

One offender didn't do well in a group, Taylor recalled. Taylor equipped the man with loppers and secateurs and told him to cut back an overgrown walking track in Aro Valley.

"It took him four weeks. Yes, he probably lay in the sun for some of it. But he worked far better on his own than in a group. And that track has gone on to be an incredibly popular walking track."

Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.