Day: February 5, 2019

Seven MILLION hours of community payback

Community sentences continue to support local projects across Scotland

Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf has welcomed figures revealing Scotland’s communities have benefitted from around 7 million hours of unpaid work by people serving Community Payback Orders since their introduction in 2011.

Criminal Justice Social Work 2017-18 statistics show 17,800 Community Payback Orders (CPOs) were commenced in 2017-18 and 75% had an unpaid work or other activity requirement.

In addition, just over 1,000 fiscal work orders commenced in 2017-18 including unpaid work and 86% were successfully completed.

Responding to the figures, the Justice Secretary also confirmed plans to lay the order to extend the presumption against short prison sentences from 3 months to 12 after Easter. Subject to parliamentary approval, it is anticipated the extension will come into force in the summer.

Mr Yousaf said: “From refurbishing and redecorating local facilities to gritting roads in cold weather, unpaid work projects make a real difference to communities. With the total number of hours around 7 million, and evidence showing that those released from a short prison sentence are reconvicted almost twice as often as those given CPOs, the value of community sentences is clear.

“We are working closely with councils, third sector partners and Community Justice Scotland to strengthen the provision of alternatives to custody and support our hard-working prison officers by ensuring prison is focused on those people convicted of the most serious crimes and who pose the highest risk to public safety.

“As we plan for the extension of the presumption against short prison sentences, which is supported by empirical evidence and was backed by the vast majority of consultation respondents, we have protected and strengthened funding for Scotland’s criminal justice social work services so that it now stands at just over £100 million. We also provide over £11.6 million to third sector organisations working to help reduce reoffending – keeping crime down and communities safe.”

Criminal Justice Social Work Statistics in Scotland: 2017-18

6,887,119 of hours of unpaid work have been recorded as part of CPO unpaid work or other activity requirements successfully completed between 1 April 2011 and 31 March 2018. It doesn’t include unpaid work under legacy orders, fiscal work orders or CPOs unpaid work requirements that were not successfully completed.

The use of custodial sentences under 3 months has fallen over the last decade, while the proportion of people given a community sentence has risen, from 14% in 2008-09 to 20% for the last two years.

85% of the responses to the Scottish Government’s 2015 Consultation on Proposals to Strengthen the Presumption against Short Periods of Imprisonment supported an extension of the presumption and 84% supported an extension to 12 months.

National Statistics show that those released from a short prison sentence are reconvicted almost twice as often in 12 months than those given community payback orders (CPOs).

Justice Social Work plays a vital role in ensuring community sentences and other interventions are effective in addressing offending and its causes, paying back to communities and preventing re-offending. This work has helped achieve a 19 year low in reconviction rates.

Completion rates for community sentences have increased, 70% in 2017-18 compared to 64% in 2006-07.  Updated Practice Guidance on Community Payback Orders was published on 25 January to further support effective practice and improvement, including a fresh focus on breach and compliance.

While volumes of criminal justice social work reports and orders fell by over 5% in the last year, ring-fenced funding for Criminal Justice Social Work of just over £100 million is being protected in the 2019-20 Budget to deliver community sentences, support rehabilitation and reduce re-offending.

The Scottish Government continues to invest in third sector services that support criminal justice social work and community justice partners working together, to reduce reoffending. In 2018-19 this investment totalled over £11.6 million including support for mentoring, Apex, SACRO, the 218 Centre for women, Venture Trust, Turning Point Scotland, Families Outside and Prison Visitor Centres.

 

Leith’s Dean Owens wins UK Song of the Year Award

Leith singer songwriter Dean Owens has won the UK Song of the Year Award at the fourth annual UK Americana Awards which were held last Thursday at London’s Hackney Empire. The awards were compered by BBC legend “Whispering” Bob Harris.   Continue reading Leith’s Dean Owens wins UK Song of the Year Award

“Milestone” as building work starts on Raeburn Place

The charity Raeburn Place Foundation (RPF) announced today that the main building works have started on site for the redevelopment of the historic sports ground at Raeburn Place, Stockbridge.

In redeveloping the famous sports ground, where the first rugby international was held, RPF will create first-class sports and recreational facilities, including a Museum of International Rugby,  that are fit for the 21st century, open and accessible to all and financially sustainable.

David Newlands, Chairman of the Raeburn Place Foundation, said: “This is a momentous day for the trustees and all involved in the project. The development will transform Raeburn Place into a sports hub and community resource, thereby improving lives through sport, which has been our vision from day one.

“Much hard work has gone into bringing our plans to fruition and to see the preliminary works completed and the building works beginning on site is a wonderful start to 2019 for everyone who has shown their belief in our vision.”

The contract has been let to Robertson Central, who carried out the enabling works on the site in 2017.

The contractor’s Regional Managing Director, David Cairns, said: “This is a landmark project for Robertson to be involved with, due to its central location and the importance of the ground in sporting heritage terms. We have been involved in the detailed design stage and are now pleased to be on site and bringing our experience to bear on realising the building.”

The redeveloped site will be financially sustainable due to the inclusion of commercial units and function space within the building. This commercial element, with units let to quality tenants including Marks & Spencer Foodhall, Waterstones and Charlie Miller, has attracted funding from the Bank of Scotland.

Work on this part of the contract is scheduled for completion in the autumn this year.

“You might as well build an abbattoir at the top of Pennywell Road: we’re being put to the sword”

Funding Cuts: When all else fails, order a report … or two

Campaigners representing local community organisations affected by impending cuts to Health and Social Care grants put their case for continued funding to the North West Localities Committee last week.

The projects were told that the Locality Committee is in no position to restore lost funding, however, and councillors committed only to call for reports into the EIJB’s grant funding process.

In particular, officers were tasked to look at activity (or lack of it) to support projects affected by discontinued funding since the decision was made in December. The reports will also analyse the funding spend to determine whether or not North West has been impacted more severely than other localities.

While it’s important that lessons are learned for the future, this action won’t help those projects who need support NOW, though: the Localities committee doesn’t meet again until 28th March – by which time projects will have had to issue redundancy notices to staff and, in some cases, look at closing projects down. Continue reading “You might as well build an abbattoir at the top of Pennywell Road: we’re being put to the sword”