What is Community Payback?

Community Payback is a community sentence which can be imposed by Scottish courts for offences committed on or after 1st February 2011. These punishments require offenders to repay communities for the damage caused by their crimes, and could include carrying out unpaid manual work to improve streets and neighbourhoods. This is supported by tough intervention programmes to address the underlying issues that can influence their offending behaviour, such as drugs or alcohol addiction, to stop them offending again.

Short prison sentences of three months or less do very little to tackle the root cause of offending behaviour. If this behaviour is not addressed and supported to change, it can lead to more crime. On average an offender only serves 15 days after conviction serving this type of sentence.

Low level crimes can cause disturbance, upset, damage and fear in communities. The best place to change this kind of offending behaviour is in the community. Community Payback Orders will give the courts the authority to create tailor?made community sentences to address all areas of a crime and of offending behaviour.

A Community Payback Order could include one or more of a range of requirements for the offender to complete. The punishment could involve carrying out hours of unpaid work in the community with benefits for the community. Additional requirements could include, for example: completion of intensive supervision, alcohol, drug or behavioural programmes.

Clearing pathways of snow and ice, building eco-plant areas for school children, repainting community centres or churches, cleaning up beaches, growing vegetables and distributing the produce to care homes and local charities, are just a few of the unpaid work activities being carried out by offenders in communities across Scotland.

This new community sentence will properly repay victims of crime and rehabilitate offending behaviour in Scotland. It is in the interest of Scotland to want to rehabilitate its people. We all want to live in a safe place.