Criminal handed communal sentence from home, told to knit instead of jail
Criminals are allowed to work on “craft kits” at home as part of their soft-touch community sentences.
Due to restrictions imposed during the pandemic, all in-person, unpaid job placements have been canceled for safety reasons.
In response, many city councils have introduced work that criminals can do at home as part of a Community Payback Order (CPO).
But despite the lifting of all restrictions due to Covid last March, criminals are still allowed to carry out their sentences at home, including completing a “bird box building” kit.
Jamie Greene, legal spokesman for the Scottish Conservative Party, said, “One year after COVID-19 restrictions have been lifted, criminals are still using tricks like making bird boxes at home. It is amazing to be given crafts.
Due to restrictions imposed during the pandemic, all in-person, unpaid job placements have been canceled for safety reasons
“It is bad enough that many criminals who should have been given prison sentences, such as domestic abusers, are given an order to repay the community in the first place, thanks to SNP’s meek judicial culture.”
“It’s an insult to the victim,” he added.
During the pandemic, criminals have been forced to knit, build hedgehog dens, study for driving theory tests and participate in “social media training” in lieu of prison sentences. was allowed.
But even though all Covid legal restrictions on people and businesses ended over a year ago, many councils still give criminals jobs to complete from home.
South Ayrshire Council said that between 1 April 2022 and 17 January 2023, 3,909 hours of unpaid work were done using ‘home craft kits’.
This compares to 9,455 in 2021-22 and 3,057 in 2020-21. Kits were used in response to the closure of community-based unpaid work options.
Dumfries and Galloway Council said the offenders worked 174 hours of unpaid work between April 1 and January 17, 2022, including a “work from home pack.”
The work-at-home pack is said to include a “bird box assembly” kit and an “artwork project.”
However, the council said the puck “is not directly related to the situation regarding Covid restrictions” but is a means for offenders to complete unpaid work as part of the CPO.
South Lanarkshire found only 8 hours of ‘remote’ unpaid work among CPOs in 2020-2021, 5,270 hours in the following year and between 1 April and 17 January 2022. to 6,538 hours.
Scottish Conservative justice spokesman Jamie Greene called the revelations “abnormal” and “insulting” to the victims.
Such work has seen criminals in the area create safety blankets from crisp parcels and rugs for animal charities.
In another project, criminals use gemstones to create works of art. A person with a CPO has the opportunity to spend part of their time doing “personal development work,” which includes skill development and educational courses.
A “mixed learning pack” for offenders to complete at home is said to allow them to think about “problems” and “personal circumstances” that “may be related to why they committed the crime.” I’m here.
The Dumfries and Galloway Criminals completed 14,337 hours in 2020-2021, 9,163 hours in the following year, and 1,471 hours between 1 April and 17 January 2022 of the blended learning task.
The council said the use of such packs “has declined as planned following the lifting of Covid-19 restrictions.”
West Dunbartonshire Council said all CPOs in the region will take place in person, but added that criminals would also be offered “additional online learning opportunities” where appropriate.
These include the Drugs, Alcohol and Relationships Learning Pack and Online Creative Workshops.
The South Ayrshire Council said the use of craft kits at home was “intended to benefit local charities through donations” and as a “creative means to provide unpaid working hours” during the pandemic. said to have been introduced in
The spokesperson added:
The South Lanarkshire Council found that the hours criminals worked remotely fell from 28% of total hours in 2022 to 18% so far this year, with the number of remotely working criminals He said the numbers are declining. We expect the percentage to continue to decline.
A Scottish government spokesman said:
“Crime, including violence, is under this government and our focus remains on prevention, effective community interventions and rehabilitation.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12005763/Offenders-handed-community-sentences-home-told-knit-alternative-prison.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490 Criminal handed communal sentence from home, told to knit instead of jail