An annual report from North Lanarkshire Council details recent work carried out by offenders through their community payback orders.
Community payback orders are a type of sentence imposed by courts which requires the convicted person to perform work to benefit their area rather than go to prison.
In the last year, the amount of hours of unpaid work carried out has increased by 20 per cent to more than 92,000 hours, and this growth is expected to continue as more sentences are imposed. Demand is expected to continue to grow, as over the last two years the number of community payback orders has increased by more than two thirds.
The council operates a bicycle refurbishment workshop which sees offenders repair bikes which have been donated to the workshop or left at recycling centres. Once repaired to a high standard, the bikes are then given to community groups, schools and individuals.
This service has proven very successful, and the number of unpaid hours worked under CPOs is now more than eight times higher than in 2021. The service has recently expanded with the purchase of a mobile bike repair trailer, helping it to reach more communities.
There is also a woodworking workshop which allows people on CPOs to learn joinery skills, creating items from reclaimed wood pallets which would otherwise have ended up in landfill. Projects include outdoor classrooms and play equipment.
Offenders have also helped with outdoor working such as restocking grit bins, cutting grass and clearing footpaths. To date 54 squads have been involved in these tasks, ranging in scale from one or two days up to six months.
The home improvement workshop allows people to learn about decorating, painting and plastering, and once proficient they use these skills on various community projects.
Those on CPOs also receive help to recover from issues such as poor mental health or addiction to gambling or drugs. Other specialist interventions are targeted at those who are convicted of sexual offences or domestic violence.
The council is also supported by a range of voluntary organisations, for example the Wise Group and SACRO providing mentoring services, Reel Rime Music which taught groups about producing music, podcasts and video, SACRO and mindfulness training from Ten for Zen.
The report was formally endorsed by the council’s education, children and families committee at a recent meeting.
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