The number of persons starting a probation order or community service order in 1995 was marginally less than that in 1994. Some 110,000 people began supervision under criminal court orders in 1995. Nearly 15,000 people started combination orders in 1995, compared to 12,600 in 1994, an increase of 17 percent. The trend has been toward more combination orders and fewer probation or community service orders. Forty-one percent of those beginning probation in 1995 were known to have served a previous custodial sentence, compared to 42 percent in 1994 and 43 percent in 1993. These percentages are high in relation to the years before 1993. The recent decline is consistent with the pattern of sending more offenders to prison and giving probation orders, for the same offense, to those who might previously have had a fine or conditional discharge. The 216,000 presentence reports prepared in 1995 represented approximately 6 percent fewer than in 1994. Reduced court workloads and the relaxation of the requirement for a presentence report since February 1995 are the probable causes of this reduction. Figures, tables, and list of recent Home Office statistical bulletins