Crooks rack up 50,000 hours of unpaid work
Hike in Community Payback Orders over 12 months
The number of criminals dodging jail stretches for unpaid work has soared.
Criminals carried out almost 50,000 hours of labour across Renfrewshire in just 12 months.
Social workers say orders have more than doubled since they were introduced seven years ago.
Renfrewshire Council statistics revealed a surge in communitybased disposals in a report to Holyrood.
It states: “Unpaid work undertakes a significant range of work within the community in Renfrewshire.
“In total 49,152 hours were undertaken which includes 47,370 hours of direct community work and 1,782 hours of other activity.
“Service users work in a range of areas including charity shops, gardening and environmental work, gritting, and painting and decorating.”
Sheriffs can i mpose Community Payback Orders ( CPO) as an alternative to custody.
They can feature elements including unpaid work, supervision and counselling and were introduced in April 2011.
Social workers act as officers of the court and take on responsibility for ensuring offenders take part in the programme.
Ministers have called on councils to lodge figures with the government outlining use in regions across the country.
The figures are being published for the first time, with the latest data outlining the picture for 2016-17.
They show an increase in sentences dolled out since introduction and spring last year.
Teams told how they are dealing with a 39 per cent hike in those slapped with supervision requirements.
Louts must attend regular meetings with experts and reporting officers to provide updates on their living situations.
Social workers say there has been a 102 per cent increase in those told to complete unpaid work.
Hours have increased by 76 per cent since the orders came into use seven years ago.
Sentences can be slashed if criminals take part in voluntary schemes to tackle the root of offending.
Up to 30 hours can be cut from order timescales for attending sessions on a range of issues, including drug and alcohol use, anger management and financial care.
Despite help being offered, less than two hours each has been spent on employability training and victim awareness classes.
Criminals may also be compelled to take part in counselling for sexual offences, domestic abuse and problem drinking.
They took on a range of manual tasks in 2016- 17, including gritting, litter picking, working in residential and day centres and charity shops.
Offenders spent more than 32,000 hours gardening and carrying out environmental work, 6,500 hours painting and decorating and almost 2,000 hours on joinery.
The report added: “The team has undertaken a variety of painting and decorating tasks for individuals across the Renfrewshire community.
“This includes work at the homes of vulnerable individuals including the elderly.
“We also worked closely with the refugee resettlement team on painting properties for refugee families coming into the area.
“The workshop has continued this year to host open days to promote the high- quality garden furniture it creates which is available for sale to individuals and local community organisations.”