s 270A Exception to restrictions on community punishments
(1) If the conditions in subsection (2) are met, the power to award a community punishment in respect of an offence (“the current offence”) may be exercised even though the court would not otherwise regard— (a) the current offence, or (b) the combination of the current offence and one or more offences associated with it, as serious enough to warrant a community punishment (despite the effect of section 238(1)(b)). (2) The conditions referred to in subsection (1) are— (a) that the offender was aged 16 or over when convicted of the current offence; (b) that on three or more previous occasions the offender has been awarded a relevant financial penalty; and (c) that the court, having regard to all the circumstances, considers that it would be in the interests of justice to award a community punishment. (3) In subsection (2)(b) a “ relevant financial penalty ” means a sentence consisting only of a fine— (a) passed on the offender in respect of a service offence ... committed by the offender when aged 16 or over; or (b) passed on the offender on conviction by a civilian court in the British Islands of an offence so committed; ... (c) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (4) For the purposes of subsection (2)(b) it is immaterial whether the offender has on other previous occasions been awarded a sentence other than a relevant financial penalty. (5) The circumstances which must be had regard to under subsection (2)(c) include— (a) the nature of the offences for which the relevant financial penalties were awarded; (b) the relevance of those offences to the current offence; and (c) the time that has elapsed since those penalties were awarded. (6) For the purposes of subsection (3), none of the following forms part of an offender's sentence— (za) a criminal courts charge order (or an order under section 21A of the Prosecution of Offences Act 1985 (criminal courts charge)); (a) a service compensation order; (b) a compensation order under— (i) section 133 of the Sentencing Code (or section 130 of the Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000); (ii) section 249 of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995; or (iii) Article 14 of the Criminal Justice (Northern Ireland) Order 1994; (c) a surcharge under section 42 of the Sentencing Code (or section 161A of the 2003 Act) ; (d) an unlawful profit order under section 4 of the Prevention of Social Housing Fraud Act 2013. (e) a slavery and trafficking reparation order under section 8 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015. (7) This section does not limit the extent to which a court may, in accordance with section 238, treat previous convictions of the offender as increasing the seriousness of an offence. (8) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .