News In Focus
28 April 2009
Government failing to meet community service target
The Scotsman reports that one in five offenders given a community service order in Scotland has been waiting more than three months for the punishment to begin.
Of the 438 offenders given community service orders in November last year, it says, 84 had not begun a work placement within three months.
The Scottish Government's target of beginning unpaid work within 21 days of the judge handing down the penalty – since cut to seven days – was met in just over half the cases.
The SNP wants to replace short-term prison sentences with community sentences that will tackle the causes of offending.
Conservative justice spokesman Bill Aitken told the Scotsman: "When this shambles exists under the existing system, one can only imagine what will happen if [Justice Secretary] Kenny MacAskill's soft-touch proposals ever become law.”