More community payback orders are dished out in this region than anywhere else in Scotland – and offenders have been putting in record amounts of work.
While the number of community service punishments dropped by 50 per cent across the country during the pandemic and lockdown restrictions, Dumfries and Galloway was the only place where unpaid work figures went up.
A report detailing these surprise stats for 2020/21 will be tabled at the council’s social work committee on October 4.
Catherine Knipe, the council locality manager for justice social work, wrote in the report: “Whilst the number of CPOs imposed over the year across Scotland dropped by almost 50 per cent, in Dumfries and Galloway we did not experience such a drop.
“Indeed the CJSW (criminal justice social work) statistics indicate Dumfries and Galloway had the highest number of CPOs per 10,000 population imposed, at a rate of 47.6, compared to the Scottish average of 21.2.
“Similarly, in completing over 42,000 hours of unpaid work, even though 10,000 were as a result of the enactment of coronavirus legislation which reduced certain orders by 35 per cent, feedback from Community Justice Scotland indicated Dumfries and Galloway was the only local authority to post an increase in completed hours of unpaid work.”
Nearly 10,000 hours of standard community service had to be written off in the region in 2020/21 due to strict covid lockdown rules.
However, the council’s justice social work team came up with a new programme of community service which included online learning courses and connecting with third sector support agencies.
Offenders completed study workbooks to address issues related to their offending behaviour and were therefore able to progress through their community service hours at home.
This workbook approach during lockdown has been viewed as a particular area of good practice for the council, and details were shared with colleagues elsewhere in Scotland.
Of the unpaid work that could be completed in the community between April 1, 2020 and March 31, 2021, some of the projects included: litter picking, weeding and hedge cutting, sanding and restoring benches, painting public toilets, donating kindling to community councils, grass cutting, and making planters for primary schools.
