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Benefits of Community Payback
31/08/2010
Swift and effective community payback offers the opportunity to turn round Scotland's historically high reoffending rate, Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill said today.
Commenting on Reconviction rates in Scotland: 2006-07 and 2007-08 offender cohorts, Mr MacAskill said the statistics supported the Scottish Government's emphasis on a system of immediate and robust community penalties which are a credible alternative to custody.
He said:
"These figures simply underline what we already know - that nearly three-quarters of those sentenced to less than six months in prison go on to gain further convictions within two years of release. By contrast, nearly three out of five of those sentenced to community service have a clean record after a similar time.
"The key to breaking the cycle of reoffending can be found in these statistics. Short sentences simply don't work for low level offenders. They are both ineffective and of no practical benefit to communities. That is the view shared by a wide range of experts - and, it seems, the new UK Government.
"That is why we are creating a Community Payback Order - giving sheriffs the ability to send low level offenders out into the community to pay back through hard work. The order also allows for drug or alcohol interventions to be targeted at the offender - particularly important if we are to break the link between drink and drugs and crime.
"If we are serious about improving the safety of our communities we need to ensure that our prisons focus on the most serious criminals for whom prison is the only option. So while we are investing 120 million pounds each year in modernising the prison estate and building new prisons, we are also investing in improving the community service provision across Scotland.
"Community based sentences work. These statistics show they can help prevent offenders committing crime again in the future - and we're increasingly seeing the benefits to be gained for the community by getting these offenders out doing some hard work rather than sitting for a couple of weeks in a prison cell."