The court can adjourn the sentence proceedings for a maximum period of 12 months to allow the offender to attend a rehabilitation centre.
To do this, the offender must not be in custody. He or she must either be on bail or bail has been dispensed with.
The court will consider the objective gravity of the offences and significance of rehabilitation before adjourning for deferral. The court must be satisfied that the delay is justified and appropriate in the circumstances.
Upon the expiration of the adjournment the matter will return to court for sentence proceedings to resume. The offender’s progress will be assessed and the court may take it into account when determining the appropriate sentence.
In addition to rehabilitation, there are various types of programs recognised by the courts. Some examples are the Circle Sentencing Intervention Program, Forum Sentencing Program and the Traffic Offender Intervention Program.