Life-changing sentences helping to stop and reduce offending

People carrying out unpaid work as part of community payback orders in Aberdeenshire believe the sentences helped change their behaviour.

The majority of offenders felt the work helped them to stop or reduce offending.

And the majority also felt the work helped them to stop or reduce offending.

A survey of people carrying out unpaid work as part of community payback orders (CPOs) in Aberdeenshire revealed 100 per cent thought it had changed their behaviour, 89 per cent said they thought it changed their thinking and 82 per cent said it helped them to stop or reduce offending.

One person reported: “It helps prevent me doing something wrong again and paying back the community for what I have done wrong. I hope the community benefited from the work I done, for example, the garden work we done helped to clear up the mess and left it nice for the tenant.”

The new annual CPO report 2021-22 which has just been published by Community Justice Scotland, reveals how people carrying out CPOs have been held to account and supported to reconnect and contribute to their communities.

Jeff Shaw, Partnership Manager for Aberdeenshire Health & Social Care Partnership and Chair of the Aberdeenshire Community Justice Partnership, said: “Various areas have been improved by people carrying out unpaid work through litter picking, weeding and clearing public areas, giving people the chance to give something back and learn new skills to help them reintegrate back into communities.”

Catherine Dyer, Chair, Community Justice Scotland, added: “CPOs are a vitally important component of community justice. They allow people to acknowledge the harms caused by their behaviours, take steps to contribute positively to the community but also to address some of the drivers of their offending.

“Communities across Scotland have benefited as a direct result of people fulfilling CPOs, in spite of the unprecedented challenges due to the pandemic as well as issues faced by organisations affected by public finance constraints. Community Justice Scotland will continue to drive improvement by monitoring and supporting all involved in the making and delivery of CPOs."