News from the City of Purcell

Community Service

In this type of alternative sentence, a judge orders a criminal offender to perform work on behalf of the community in exchange for a complete or partial reduction of fines and/or incarceration.

Court ordered community service often accompanies some other form of alternative sentence such as suspended sentences, probation, fines, deferred adjudication or pretrial diversion.

The theory behind court ordered community service is that mandating minor offenders to perform community service offers more benefit to society than incarceration of those offenders.

The community benefits from the work that the offender performs and avoids the cost of incarceration while the offender benefits from a lesser sentence and, it is hoped, is rehabilitated, educated and enriched through the work they perform.

If you are in need of community service, contact the City of Purcell’s Code Enforcement office, 230 W. Main, in Purcell.