Community payback orders explained

In this blog, Julia Duffy, Postgraduate research intern with the Council, explains what a Community payback order is and provides information on the requirements which can be imposed on offenders. 

Introduction

The community payback order, or CPO, was established by the Scottish Government in February 2011 under the Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2010. CPOs were introduced to replace forms of sentencing such as community service orders, probation orders, supervised attendance orders, and the former community reparation order.

A CPO is a non-custodial sentence, meaning that instead of being sentenced to a period of imprisonment an offender sentenced to a CPO will serve their punishment within the community. CPOs can be for a period of between 6 months and 3 years. There are ten requirements which can be given as part of a CPO, and the judge will decide which ones will be attached depending on the offence(s) committed and the individual offender. The requirements give the offender the opportunity to address the causes of their offending behaviour, and to give back to the community.

Requirements of a CPO

Before a judge can sentence an offender to a CPO, they will normally first receive a report from a criminal justice social worker. The report will contain relevant background information about the offender. This can include offences they have committed previously, their risk of re-offending, their need to change their offending behaviour, their health, and their living situation.

The only time a report is not required is when:

• the CPO is not above level one of unpaid work (between 20 and 100 hours)
• the CPO has been ordered for a fine which has not been paid

The possible requirements of a CPO are:

Unpaid work

Those ordered to fulfil this requirement are required to complete 20-300 hours of unpaid work, and communities may put forward ideas to their local council of what work they want them to undertake. Unpaid work can include, for example:

• helping in a charity shop or community café
• gardening in parks
• redecorating scout halls, schools, day centres, care homes
• cleaning beaches, graffiti, litter

Supervision

Supervision under a CPO may include making the offender attend regular appointments with a criminal justice social worker who monitors their compliance with their CPO, and can help them address their offending behaviour.

Compensation

An offender sentenced to a CPO may be ordered to pay money to their victim(s) for injuries or distress they have caused, or damage to property, as a way of making amends.

Programmes

Those under a CPO can be instructed to attend mandatory programmes, such as drug or alcohol support groups, which can help deal with their offending or other issues which may have contributed to it. These programmes are usually arranged by a social worker.

Residence

An offender may be asked to reside at a certain address. This could either be a private address or a hostel or institution when the offender does not have access to stable accommodation.

Conduct

An offender sentenced to a CPO can be ordered to do or not do certain things with the intention of preventing future offending. Restrictions under a conduct requirement can be geographical, for example staying away from the area where the offence occurred, or an order to have no contact with a specified person or persons.

Restricted Movement

This requires the offender to remain at a specific address for up to 12 hours a day and/or stay away from a specific address for up to 24 hours a day. This requirement can be enforced via court-ordered curfew, property checks or electronic monitoring (electronic tag).

Treatments

Some CPOs also require the offender to undertake treatment based on their individual needs. The three specific treatment requirements are: drug, mental health and alcohol treatment. Offenders may, for example, be ordered to attend clinics, counselling or go to hospital depending on which treatment is required.

Who can be Sentenced to a CPO?

Anyone who is above the age of criminal responsibility (12) can be sentenced to a CPO. But depending on the age of the offender, there are some differences in respect of what the court can do. For example:

• A CPO involving a condition of unpaid work or other activity requirement can only be given to an offender above sixteen years of age.
• If the offender is under eighteen, an offender supervision requirement is mandatory

An offender supervision requirement is also mandatory, however, for an offender of any age when their CPO conditions include any requirement apart from unpaid work.

Offenders must provide their consent to being given a CPO otherwise the courts are unable to impose this sentence, unless the CPO is imposed under section 227M(2) of the 1995 Act for fine default.

What Happens if a CPO is Breached?

If an offender who is sentenced to a CPO fails to comply with any of the requirements attached to it, they can be returned to court. From here a judge may decide to:

• rescind their CPO and instead give them an alternative sentence such as a term of imprisonment, a fine or a restriction of liberty order (RLO)
• keep the CPO but add further conditions to it instead of imposing a different sentence, or
• allow the initial CPO to continue as it was.

The court may consider the nature of the breach, the type of CPO, and the circumstances of the offence and the offender in reaching its decision.