Falkirk Council

A Community Sentence involves punishment and/or changing the offender’s behaviour, and it can encourage the offender to deal with any problems that might be contributing to their offending (e.g. drugs).

The main types of community sentences imposed by the courts include:

• Community Payback Order(from 1st February 2011)
• Restriction of Liberty Order
• Probation Order (pre 1st February 2011)
• Community Service (pre 1st February 2011)
• Supervised Attendance Order Scheme (pre 1st of February 2011)
• Fine Supervision Order

 Community Payback (from 1st February 2011)

 To counteract the increasing use of short periods of imprisonment the Scottish Government has introduced this community based order as a direct alternative to custody. It can be imposed for offences committed after 1st February 2011 and, from that date, replaces separate Probation, Community Service and Supervised Attendance Orders. 'Requirements' which can be attached to this type of order are similar in nature to former Probation 'conditions', most notably Supervision, and Unpaid Work and Other Activity.

• a level 1 requirement specifies a period of between 20 and 100 hours of unpaid work;
• a level 2 requirement specifies a period of between 101 and 300 hours of unpaidwork;

(Click on the links below to download more details of each of the conditions)

Types of Unpaid Work

Some examples of work carried out as part of a Community Service/Unpaid Work Order include:

• environmental improvements 
• graffiti removal 
• gardening 
• painting 
• decorating 
• refurbishing buildings 
• assistance and support for the elderly or disabled

We also have a workshop facility, where we make garden items. For example:

• garden benches 
• love seats 
• bird tables 
• nesting boxes

In addition to this, if you come up with a design, we will endeavour to make it for you. This facility is open to all members of the community and the only cost is for the materials.

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Community projects

If you know of any project which could benefit by providing work for offenders providing Unpaid Work, we would be pleased to hear from you. We are particularly interested in helping projects which contribute towards community safety and help to reduce the fear of crime, or those which make environmental improvements to public spaces.

All projects are carefully assessed for suitability and safety before any work is commenced. Please note that we cannot provide assistance to private individuals or profit-making organisations.

If you know of a project that you would like assessed for suitability please contact:

Community Service section, Criminal Justice Service, Brockville, Hope Street, FALKIRK. Tel: 01324 506464. E-mail: cjs.communityservice@falkirk.gov.uk|

 Photo Gallery - Unpaid work in action|

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Imposing curfews as a condition of an order

The court may use a curfew system (Restriction of Liberty/Movement) to reduce the offender's opportunities for criminal activity, which can also protect the community from anti-social behaviour.

Commonly known as "tagging", this involves a "tag" being placed round the ankle of an offender and a monitor in the offender's house.  For a specified period each day, normally between the hours when offending has previously taken place, the offender is confined to the house. Alternatively the monitor can be placed at an address which the offender is forbidden from approaching or entering.

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Probation Order  (until 1st February 2011)

This is a court order lasting between 6 months and 3 years whereby the offender must report to a social worker when required to do so, with the aim of reducing re-offending and therefore improving public safety.
All Probation Orders contain 3 basic conditions:

• To be of good behaviour 
• To follow the directions of the supervising officer
• To  immediately advise any changes of address or employment

The courts can also impose additional conditions to encourage good behaviour. These conditions may include :

• Attendance at specific group-work programmes designed to address related behaviour such as drugs or alcohol abuse.  
• A requirement to carry out Community Service
• Attendance for medical or psychiatric treatment
  

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Community Service  (until 1st February 2011)

As an alternative to a custodial sentence, courts can impose a community service order on an offender which normally involves carrying out practical or manual work in the community, ranging from 80 to 300 hours, depending on the nature of the offence. Where possible projects are aimed at improving community safety and reducing the fear of crime.

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Supervised Attendance Order Scheme (until 1st February 2011)

The aim of the scheme is to reduce the number of people in custody for the non-payment of fines. The intention is to substitute a fine with a specific amount of time carrying out unpaid work to benefit the community.

The number of hours of an order can range from 10 to 100 and reflects the level of fine. Those who fail to comply with the requirements of the order will be taken back to court and can be sentenced to a period in prison.

This scheme works closely with Community Service| on the range of projects involved, which may also include providing advice on welfare benefits, managing money, substance misuse etc, where appropriate.

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Fine Supervision Order

This means that when imposing a fine, the court may order social work staff to supervise the offender until the fine is paid.  The social work staff can offer advice about how the fine can be dealt with, and if it still isn’t paid, he/she provides a report for the court, and the necessary actions are taken.

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