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Work-from-home community sentences which allow offenders to do online courses in the comfort of their own homes is not effective punishment, judges have said.
In a report by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), judges said these types of sentences were seen by criminals as a ‘reward’ which meant they could avoid being out in all types of weather to complete their unpaid community service.
Comments were made in an MoJ evaluation of unpaid work — the ‘chain gangs’ introduced by Boris Johnson whereby offenders doing community service would wear high-vis jackets with ‘community payback’ written on their backs.
Researchers felt there was an ‘unnecessary stigma and shame’ which came from wearing these vests, which could impact an offenders’ mental health.
They described the high-vis vests as ‘degrading’, ’embarrassing’ — and went as far to say they amounted to ‘secondary punishment’.
They also found offenders were less likely to turn up to some unpaid work because it was ‘boring’ and ‘repetitive’, according to The Telegraph.
But serious concerns were raised with allowing criminals to do online courses from home.
Official Ministry of Justice data showed that criminals avoided 19,000 community work orders, more than a third of all community service sentences handed out
The Telegraph reported judges were skeptical about online courses and found they ‘took away the punishment element of an unpaid work requirement’.
One judge said: ‘They need to be effective training courses and not something that someone can tap a few things on a computer screen and that gives them a qualification.’
Official Ministry of Justice data from last year showed that criminals avoided 19,000 community work orders, more than a third of all community service sentences handed out.
Around 280,000 hours of community service were effectively written off, three times higher than five years ago.
It was also the highest figure since 2014, though a larger proportion of community service was left incomplete in previous years. Since 2019, more than 1.3 million hours of community service went incomplete after suspended sentences expired.
A community service order ends following the ‘length of the operational period of the order’, set by a judge during sentencing.
Some examples of community payback include litter picking or cleaning graffiti from a disused building.
Young offenders do manual work erecting a flower display box as part of a Community Payback Scheme
‘Chain gangs’ were introduced by Boris Johnson whereby offenders doing community service would wear high-vis jackets with ‘community payback’ written on their backs
Probation staff also raised concerns about work from home, with one saying criminals pick the easiest tasks to complete their hours quicker.
This, they said, was particularly true for those on probation with stable employment who do not need the skills offered in an online course to increase their employability.
Probation staff told researchers that ‘meaningful’ work projects where offenders could have a ‘positive impact’ on their community were more successful.
However, offenders doing unpaid work in the community did worry about members of the public perceiving them as having ‘done something worse than what they had done,’ the report added.
The report stated that in one site in the West Midlands, people on probation were labelled ‘pedophiles’ and ‘scum of the earth’ by a member of the public.
Many also feared being recognised by someone they knew which could also deter them from turning up to their unpaid work.
The MoJ has been contacted for comment.
