Can anybody enlighten me as to what community service actually entails when handed out as a punishment? Has anybody you know done it? Why? Did/does it do any good or was it just a waste of time? Where do the offenders carry out their service to the community? What do you think it should involve? Answers please.

this might help
http://www.cjsonline.gov.uk/offender/community_sentencing/community_punishment/index.html

Thanks for that. It still doesn't tell me what people feel about it though. I have never seen anyone other than, I presume, "official" people cleaning up graffiti or picking up litter. I just wondered what was the general concensus on community service.

The person who did the inquiry into prisone reform after the Strangeways riot said

"Two thirds of the prison population whould be let out and one third should never be let out" and I think I somewhat agree with that.

One a petty criminal goes into prison its basically a school in criminality and they learn more about how to do it, and could well develop a drug habit as well.

If you can have people doing useful stuff rather than sitting in a prison cell then I think if the offender is not judged a serious risk to the public then that is quite a positive thing.

A young lad I knew had managed to bring himself to the attention of the police and then the courts, they decided in their wisdom to give him 20 hours of community service. He had to go to the old General Cemetary on Cemetary Road and was supposed to help in maintaining the pathways and chopping back some of the brambles and ivy that invade the place. With absolutely no respect for authority he mucked around for three hours and was then told to clear off by the guy in charge. The courts never heard about this as his letter was ticked that 'yes he had completed his time of service' What a joke, he walked off laughing and thinking even less of the law of the land than he had before.

I did some charity work at the Rotary club in Castleton once and a van with 3 people turned up to do community service. One guy supervised them while the other three cut the grass and edges.

Originally posted by WallBuilder
A young lad I knew had managed to bring himself to the attention of the police and then the courts, they decided in their wisdom to give him 20 hours of community service. He had to go to the old General Cemetary on Cemetary Road and was supposed to help in maintaining the pathways and chopping back some of the brambles and ivy that invade the place. With absolutely no respect for authority he mucked around for three hours and was then told to clear off by the guy in charge. The courts never heard about this as his letter was ticked that 'yes he had completed his time of service' What a joke, he walked off laughing and thinking even less of the law of the land than he had before.

Of course Community Service does need to be well organised and properly enforced. Surely the solution is to make sure it is enforced and done properly before just scrapping it.

I think community service could be a good idea but how do you enforce it if the people on it just play up and disrupt what little work may be going on. My solution would involve a ball and chain and maybe a nice whippy stick but I'm quite sure the do gooders who I often think don't live in the real world would object to my idea's.

Got to agree with you there wallbuilder. Personally I would dress them in dayglo jumpsuits and have them crawl on their hands and knees picking up every scrap of litter and weeding footpaths, verges etc. It's an underused resource IMO. I think offenders should be put to work cleaning, repairing and maintaining the communities they do harm in - the council obviously do not have the infrastructure to do all the citys maintanence so make these do it. Must be cheaper than locking them up.

You're definitely right I think theres a whole raft of jobs that could be done by young offenders which would at least give them some skills and a reference to help them get a real job.
Tie them up sure but I don't know if i'd wish day-glo on anyone ;)

Although you might get opposition from people who reckon those jobs should be paid and given to people who need a job and haven't done anything wrong?