Low level offenders working for Voluntary Service Aberdeen are being sent out to repay their dues to the community, working to transform a green space area surrounding Maisie Munro children's playgroup, whilst also learning new skills which can help get them back on the job ladder.

Work includes removing broken benches, litter and any other potentially dangerous materials, transforming open stables into a digging pit or raised flower beds and constructing a new bench designed measured and prepared in HMP Aberdeen as part of the Bridges Project.

Once complete a new outdoor space will have been created for the children and others who use the centre.

Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill said:

"Prison will always be the right place for serious and dangerous offenders but for low level offenders the statistics show us that short sentences do not work.

"Three-quarters of those given a prison sentence of six months or less go on to reoffend within two years of getting out. In comparison, three out of five offenders given tough community based sentences do not.

"We need to be smarter about the way in which we deal with low level offenders. We need to end the ridiculous situation where a low level offender gets free bed and board for three months at the taxpayers' expense when the evidence shows that getting them out paying back the community through tough manual labour works far better.

"People in Scotland are sick to the back teeth of seeing the same petty criminals out time and time again committing crime in their communities. What they want to see is these individuals being punished for their crimes and they want to ensure that they don't do it again.

"Projects like these help reduce crime - by rehabilitating offenders and giving them new skills to help them get back into work, these low level offenders can turn their backs on crime.

"Getting them out doing some hard work in the community also gives them something positive to focus on rather than getting drawn back into mixing with their old destructive social groups or getting off their heads on drink and drugs.

"The work going on at Maisie Munro's is a fantastic example of how community payback can help break the destructive cycle of reoffending by putting offenders to work to repay their dues to the community, whilst delivering benefits for local people."