My 22yr old brother is on a 2 year suspended sentence and doing community sevice for the cultivation and limited social supply of cannabis, this finally went through court last month. Last night he was arested with two friends for fighting, at the moment he is still at the polce station awaiting interview. One of the friends hit a police officer, my brother was apparently trying to stop a fight. This is being treated as a public order offence/affray.
sandy, they have to pay it back using their current financial situation as a guideline. if they're still in receipt of benefits it can be a very low deduction from their benefit, and one could take the view that the government is then repaying the debt itself!