SNP scraps 30 years’ worth of community orders for criminals
Ministers excuse offenders from carrying out work
CRIMINALS ordered to carry out unpaid community work have had almost 30 years’ worth of their sentences written off.
Official figures show that 262,153 hours – 29.93 years – of ‘soft touch’ sentences have been wiped out following the decision by SNP ministers to slash the unpaid work element in Community Payback Orders (CPOs).
The Scottish Government has blamed coronavirus restrictions for the issue.
But the Conservatives have accused ministers of letting down victims of crime.
Last year, all council areas in Level 4 restrictions were told to suspend unpaid community work over fears it would not be safe.
In January this year, ministers announced ‘extraordinary powers’ would be used to cut the unpaid work element in CPOs by 35 per cent as part of a bid to tackle a backlog.
The extent of this cut has now been revealed in figures obtained by the Conservatives from councils across Scotland.
The data, which was released under freedom of information laws, shows that the average decrease per local authority is more than 8,192 hours.
Glasgow saw the biggest reduction with 32,569 hours, followed by Fife with 21,492, North Lanarkshire at 19,816 and Aberdeenshire on 13,970.
Last night Scottish Conservative justice spokesman Jamie Greene said: ‘The sheer number of Community Payback hours cut by the SNP Government is absolutely staggering.
‘They’ve let criminals away lightly by writing off hundreds of hours of community sentences.
‘This is a slap in the face to victims of crime right across Scotland.
‘When the courts order a criminal to help rebuild the community they have damaged, it’s only right that those sentences are taken seriously and fulfilled. The SNP are letting down victims again.’
Last month, it emerged that the Scottish Government had failed to meet a target to increase the number of offenders doing unpaid community work.
Ministers had pledged to shift sentencing from prisons to alternatives including CPOs, but an Audit Scotland report warned of a stagnation in the use of community sentences. Figures highlighted by the public spending watchdog show that in 2016-17, 59 per cent of sentences handed down by courts – excluding fines – were community sentences.
This dropped to 56 per cent the following year before returning to 59 per cent in 2019-20.
A presumption against the use of short prison sentences of three months or less was introduced by the SNP in 2011, with these to be replaced instead by ‘immediate and tough’ CPOs.
A Scottish Government spokesman said: ‘The justice system holds those who commit offences to account and community-based sentences have helped contribute to record low reconviction rates in recent years. The pandemic has been an unprecedented public health challenge.
‘This was recognised by parliament when last year it approved legislation to allow community orders to be varied where necessary, as well as regulations earlier this year to reduce the number of unpaid work hours.
‘This is to address the unavoidable build-up of unpaid work resulting from essential public health restrictions, and the rationale for the regulations was clearly set out at the time.
‘Orders imposed for domestic abuse, sexual offending, and stalking were excluded.
‘Our justice system has continued to operate effectively despite the challenges of the pandemic, and those on community orders will still serve the majority of their sentences.’
Offenders who are subject to CPOs can be ordered to carry out between 20 and 300 hours of unpaid work.
Usually, before judges hand out the orders, they receive reports from criminal justice social workers, which give details of the offenders’ backgrounds and any previous crimes.
Communities have the option to submit ideas to their local authorities for what sort of unpaid work should be undertaken.
Examples of unpaid work which criminals are ordered to carry out include cleaning beaches and graffiti, litterpicking, or helping in the community in another way, such as by redecorating public buildings, clearing pathways or working in charity shops and cafes.
People subject to CPOs will sometimes also have to follow other requirements such as being subject to supervision or attending special programmes.
SOFT TOUCH JUSTICE