Community payback is no substitute for punishment

times.series@archant.co.uk
21 July 2010

Ex-offenders paying back to the community

A LEADING councillor has described the Community Payback scheme as being 'no substitute for a proper punishment' despite evidence it reduces re-offending, writes Glenn McMahon.

The scheme is used as an alternative to prison sentences where offenders spend up to 300 hours working on community projects.

Cllr Greg Smith, Hammersmith and Fulham Council's cabinet member for crime and anti-social behaviour, made the comments after offenders from West London cleaned-up wasteland on the junction of Wood Lane and Depot Road, White City, as punishment for their crimes.

But Stephen Cowan, Labour opposition leader for H&F, said: "Community Payback has proved to work by significantly cutting re-offending rates. The real tragedy is too many people are heading towards crime and it's important the council lays on a lot more imaginative approach to stop people from getting involved in crime in the first place.

"Statistics prove that while prison plays an important role in punishment it plays little role in rehabilitation and I think most people would agree that if we want to cut crime we have to cut re-offending."

The Ministry of Justice website states that the rate for re-offending following a short custodial sentence is 59.9 per cent adding the rate following a community sentence is 36.1 per cent.

A London Probation Trust spokesman, who is responsible for Community payback, said the scheme 'is an effective way to deal with offenders for whom a prison sentence is not appropriate; sentencers view it as a proportionate community-based sentence for minor offences.'

And the Prison Reform Trust agreed the scheme is an effective tool.

Geoff Dobson, deputy director of the Prison Reform Trust, said: "Community payback schemes provide effective penalties for a wide range of offences, while also ensuring that people who have broken the law do something tangible to repay their debt to society."

Cllr Greg Smith declined to comment.