Legal background Sentencing and release: Northern Ireland Determinate Custodial Sentences (DCS)
DCS for adult offenders are provided for by Article 8 of the 2008 Order. The court sets the sentence length based on the seriousness of the offending, then calculates a supervision period, and deducts that from the sentence, with what’s left amounting to the custodial term (which cannot exceed half of the overall sentence). Once the custodial term of the sentence has been served, the offender is automatically released on licence.