Community Payback Order
Each Community Payback Order will have one or more “requirement”, to find the right balance between reparation (paying back to the community for the impact of your offending), rehabilitation (to change your attitudes about offending), reintegration (to help you be part of a law abiding community) and sometimes restriction (such as an evening curfew or tag). These orders can last from 6 months to 3 years. Justice Social Work will create a programme of work with you to look at areas in your life which led you to offend. This will be regularly reviewed throughout your order to ensure that it continues to meet your needs and reduce risk. The court may also ask for regular reports on your progress.
The requirements can be:
- Supervision
- Unpaid Work
- Programme
- Drug Treatment
- Alcohol Treatment
- Residence
- Mental Health Treatment
- Compensation
- Conduct
- Electronic monitoring
Unpaid Work
Unpaid work in the community (used to be called Community Service) can be made from between 20 – 300 hours depending on the severity of the crime and is a requirement of a Community Payback Order. This can be given on its own or with other requirements of a Community Payback Order eg supervision.
Unpaid work can be undertaken on a work squad or with an agency such as a charity or community project. A maximum of 30 hours can be used for attending training, counselling and other approved activities. We try to include elements of skills training so that you not only “pay back” to society but you also gain some useful skills to help you move forward with your life eg employment.
If you have been placed on Unpaid Work you will be expected to complete your hours in your spare time and not disturb any normal working hours if you are employed or have caring commitments.
If you are a member of the public looking for someone to do Unpaid Work in your community please contact your local Justice Social Work Team or . Every request will be evaluated prior to agreeing to provide support. You must remember however that we cannot take business away from local tradesmen and we can only work for private individuals or non-profit making organisations.
If you are interested in seeing some of the work we have been doing in local communities you can find more information here - Unpaid Work - supporting local communities
If you have been in receipt of support from those on unpaid work then please let us know what you thought here - .
Restriction of Liberty Order
This order allows for the electronic monitoring or “tagging” of you. They are commonly used to ensure you stay at home during certain time periods (a curfew) but allows you to work, seek employment or continue with caring responsibilities. They are seen as an alternative to custody and can be used to support your community supervision and assist your early release from prison. Electronic tags can also be used to keep you away from a certain place such as a particular address or street.
Drug Treatment and Testing Orders (DTTO)
A DTTO is a sentence of the court which aims to target offending related to drug use. You will be closely monitored by a joint team of social work and health professionals. This includes regular drug treatment and testing to monitor use and help reduce dependency. A programme of work will also be developed to support you to not re-offend. The Justice Social Work team will do regular reviews of your progress that they will report back to the court.