COMMUNITY-SERVICE BY OFFENDERS - HOW MUCH DOES THE COMMUNITY BENEFIT

Community service orders enable convicted offenders to perform unpaid work of benefit to their local community. In Scotland, community service schemes are operated by the social work departments, who have responsibility for the provision of statutory social work services in the criminal justice system. The present article describes the experiences and views of 567 members of the public who had work, such as painting and decorating or gardening, carried out by offenders in community service work teams during 1989. The results of the survey indicated that such work was highly valued by the recipients who would, with few exceptions, be willing to make use of the service in the future. The importance of community service schemes providing work that both benefits the community and offers the offender a constructive experience is emphasized.