What the Edinburgh calls fast track justice has been trialled in a pilot project designed to speed up the punishment of low level offenders sentenced to a Community Payback Order. According to the authorities they have seen encouraging results during its first nine months. Some 92 per cent of offenders on the pilot were sent out to pay back the community within 24 hours, Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill said. Early initial results also show that 98 per cent are starting their manual labour within seven days.
The ‘one stop shop’ system involved community service and social work staff being housed directly opposite Glasgow Sheriff Court, meaning offenders can be transferred immediately from the dock down to be assessed, allocated, and then taken directly to their first community payback work squad placement.
The pilot is being funded by the Scottish Government in response to a determination by Ministers to speed up the current system to ensure low level offenders are sent out to repay their dues to the community swiftly.
A full evaluation will take place at the end of the pilot period, but if successful, the model could be replicated elsewhere in Scotland.
Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill said:
“We want to see low level offenders out paying back communities by doing some tough manual labour.
“Punishment should be tough and justice should be immediate which is why we are piloting this new initiative. The aim is to get these low level offenders out doing manual work to improve communities within hours of being sentenced.
“Whether it is cleaning streets of graffiti, renovating elderly care homes, restoring fallen gravestones or helping to clear pavements of snow, these offenders should be repaying communities they have harmed.
“It is early days, but the initial results are encouraging with an overwhelming majority out doing manual labour and making improvements to communities within 24 hours and nearly all of them out within seven days.
“Prison is and always will be the right place for serious and dangerous offenders and recent statistics show we are beginning to get that balance right. Crime is down, fear of crime is down, the number of people carrying out crime is down, and those that do break the law are being punished swiftly by Scotland’s justice system with criminals now being punished through the longest prison sentences in a decade.
“But at the other end of the scale, we need to address Scotland’s appalling reoffending rate for low level offenders. These offenders are going in and out of prison, time and time again and committing more crime in communities upon release.
“It has gone on too long, has been ignored for years by successive Governments and it is time to stop. That is why we are doing something about it – and the UK and Northern Irish Governments are now looking to follow our lead.
“All the evidence shows that getting offenders out doing some manual labour in the community works far better than short term prison sentences and actually stops them committing further crimes.
“The facts speak for themselves with three quarters of those sentenced to a short prison sentence of three months or less going on to reoffend within two years of getting out, but in direct comparison, three out of five given a tough community sentence do not.”
Councillor Matt Kerr, Glasgow City Council’s Executive Member for Social Care said:
“All the credit must go to the staff in the council’s social work department and in community safety services. They were the ones tasked with delivering a fast track community payback system and that’s exactly what they have done.
“Staff have created a system that represents a huge step forward in the way that offenders are dealt with once they have left court with a community payback order.
“The vast majority of offenders who receive a community punishment can now expect to be put to work on the day of sentencing and that can only enhance the effectiveness of the criminal justice system. I am very pleased that Glasgow has again shown its capacity to innovate and I can only thank the staff for all their efforts.”
Sheriff Joseph Platt, Sheriff of Glasgow and Strathkelvin said:
“The courts and the public rightly expect community sentences to be firmly enforced and administered. The department’s new and demanding standard for the fulfilment of unpaid work orders shows a clear and strong commitment to supporting the courts and meeting public expectations: it also means that orders should be completed sooner, again to the benefit of the public.”
Further information
A ‘presumption against’ ineffective short prison sentences of three months or less in favour of a new Community Payback Order came into effect in Scotland on 1st Feb, 2011.
Judges will still be able to sentence someone to three months in jail if they wish, but there will be a general presumption that low level offenders will instead be sent out to do some tough manual labour to repay their dues to the communities they have harmed, backed by action to address any underlying problems that may be fuelling the crime – whether that be alcohol, drug or mental health problems.
The Scottish Government is committing £25,000 of funding in 2010/11 and £150,000 of funding in 2011/12 to Glasgow Community Justice Authority for the pilot, which will last one year. The pilot will then be fully evaluated.
