Community Payback

Community Payback provides the opportunity for local people to have their say on how men and women, who have committed crimes, should make amends for the harm they have caused.

Unpaid Work is one of the 12 requirements in the Community Order, which was introduced in the Criminal Justice Act 2003. Magistrates and Judges can order offenders to undertake a specified number of hours. The hours worked can vary from 40 hours to 300 hours. In the past this sentence has been called Community Service or, more recently, Community Punishment.

Offenders are expected to undertake a minimum of six hours a week and to have completed their ordered hours within 12 months. The Probation Service supervises this work and provides opportunities for offenders to work seven days a week, and some of the individual Probation Areas run their workshops in the evening.

Each offender is carefully assessed before they are assigned to a project of work. This assessment looks at an offender's criminal and personal history, the crimes they have committed - and the risk they pose to the public.

The Probation Service's number one priority is the protection of the public. Men and women who are assessed as being unsuitable for work in the community, are managed in Probation Centre workshops.

Small teams of offenders who work in the community are always supervised by fully trained supervisors working for the Probation Service. They are transported to and from the project of work.

The work benefits local schools; faith groups; churches; charities and community organisations.  The range of work can include:

• graffiti removal
• street clean-ups
• ground clearance
• recycling projects
• building maintenance and landscaping
• improvements to park and community facilities
• environmental preservation programmes
• general gardening projects
• painting and decorating in community centres and meeting places
• making and repairing goods for sale in charity shops.

The Probation Service provides the free labour, we ask that the community group or charity provide the materials for the job such as paint, plants or building materials.

The Community Payback campaign has been promoting the benefits to local communities of Unpaid Work. The Probation Service wants the range of different project to reflect the cultural diversity of our modern society.

These are our rules that govern Unpaid Work:

• We can only do work that would normally be undertaken by voluntary labour
• The work must provide a service to the community
• Is there water available?
• Is there electric light available?
• Is there a toilet available for use?

NOMINATION

Please use this nomination form on the Community Payback website to suggest a project of work we can assess to see if it is suitable.

To find out more about the range of Unpaid Work across the East Midlands go to www.communitypayback.co.uk This website is supported by the five Probation Areas in the region.

 Other regional Probation websites

www.dpsonline.org.uk

www.justicelincs.gov.uk

www.northants-probation.org.uk

www.nottinghamshire-probation.co.uk

To read more about Community Payback projects, go here .