Prisoners to begin community work straight after sentencing

Scotland’s councils have been handed an extra £5.5million so criminals who have been given community service start work sooner after being sentenced.
  Kenny MacAskill, the Scottish justice minister said most of the cash will go to local authorities to “clear backlogs and speed up the system”.

Last week a sheriff in Aberdeen demanded an explanation from social services after it emerged a drug dealer had completed virtually none of his community sentence.
 
George Thompson completed just two-and-a-half hours of the 280 hours of unpaid work he was ordered to undertake last year.

But Labour claimed the new funding still left a £22million black hole in the cost of the SNP’s plans to replace prison sentences of less than six months with a new “community payback order”.

This will result in thousands more criminals being handed community service, which is overseen by council-employed social workers, instead of a prison sentence.

Mr MacAskill said the £5.5million will help achieve the twin benefits of a higher number of more “robust” community sentences and better support to offenders.

“Most of this money will go to local authorities to help them clear their backlogs and achieve tighter turnaround times,” he told Holyrood’s justice committee.

“We want to work with them to ensure that they are ready when, and if this parliament supports the current legislation, the new community payback order comes into force.”

He announced the move while giving evidence on the Scottish Executive’s Criminal Justice and Licensing Bill, which creates a presumption against prison sentences of less than six months.

A recent audit of councils’ performance showed too few are achieving an official target for community service to start within 21 days of a criminal being sentenced. This deadline is soon to be changed to seven days.

The £5.5 million of new funding includes £1.5million being paid this year and £4million in 2010. It is in addition to an extra £2million that has already been allocated for community service programmes.

Mr MacAskill said the new community order will help reduce reoffending through “quick justice” and said judges will still be able to impose short prison sentences if they explain their decision.

He told the committee that three-quarters of those given short prison sentences re-offend within two years, compared with a third of those given community service.

“This isn’t about being tough or being liberal – it’s about doing what works,” Mr MacAskill added.

But Labour said the money announced by Mr MacAskill would still leave a £22 million “black hole” in councils’ community service budgets.

Scrapping short prison sentences would mean 12,646 more criminals being handed community service, the party claimed, with the average programme costing councils £2,184 per person.

Richard Baker, Scottish Labour’s justice spokesman, said: “Kenny MacAskill’s plans for scrapping six-month sentences are not only dangerous they just don’t add up financially.

“The money announced today will barely cover the cracks in the current system. The public expect tough action on crime, but with this soft-touch and out-of-touch justice secretary all we get is a weakening of the system.”