Public get say on crime ‘payback’

The public is to be quizzed on how criminals should be put to work to pay the community back for their crimes.

People in East Renfrewshire will be given the chance to have their say in a new online forum as part of the community pay-back scheme.

The community payback scheme, launched by the Scottish Government, has already seen the local council work with offenders to reduce reoffending.

Councillor Douglas Yates, East Renfrew-shire’s convener for health and social care, said: “We need to address Scotland’s re-offending rate.

“Short prison sentences can lead to a ‘revolving door’ for many offenders.

“Evidence shows that getting offenders to work as part of their community, and supporting this with rehabilitation, works far better than short-term prison sentences and stops them committing further crimes.

“Community payback gives individuals the opportunity to visibly make a positive difference to communities.

“Plans are in place to consult the local community as to the nature of unpaid activities they would like to see undertaken by individuals. This is likely to include an online survey.”

A recent example of community payback is the work carried out by offenders to build a path at the Pulse FM building in the grounds of Barrhead High School.

And at Eastwood Hill House, a residential care home for the elderly, in Giffnock, offenders re-laid the home’s patio, cleaned garden furniture and maintained the gardens, as part of their order.

The payback scheme has also seen the offenders put down a new disabled access path to give residents in wheelchairs easy access to the building.

As well as individuals doing manual work to pay back communities, the new orders can include social work supervision and can tackle the root causes of offending with tailored support for literacy, drug or alcohol problems and support to address any mental health problems.