Community Payback Orders

Community Payback Orders

A Community Payback Order (CPO) is a sentence served in the community rather than prison by a person convicted of a lower level (or lower tariff) crime in a court.

Community Payback Orders are designed to ensure that those who commit offences:

1. Pay their dues to the communities that they have harmed - often in the form of the requirement to carry out Unpaid Work of between 20 to 300 hours - to be completed with a specified timeframe. This can benefit (Pay Back) the community, see for examples:

• Harnessing Social Enterprises in Justice System - Community Payback
• Opening the Gates to Improved Lives

2. Reduce the risk that the person will re-offend by addressing any underlying problems (drivers of offending behaviour) that may be fuelling crime.  This is done through imposing one or more of a further eight provisions or requirements available to sentencers:

• Offender supervision
• Compensation
• Programme
• Mental health treatment
• Drug treatment
• Alcohol treatment
• Residence
• Conduct

The minimum requirements are offender supervision or/and unpaid work.

You can read more about Community Payback and the 9 requirements in the information pack 'A Summary of Community Options'

Submit an Unpaid Work request

Local organisations or members of the public can submit a request for offenders to undertake unpaid work which is of benefit to the community.

Please note we can only accept applications where work undertaken would not be likely to deprive others of opportunities for paid employment

Further information

• www.gov.scot/publications/community-payback-order-practice-guidance-2/  
• www.legislation.gov.uk/asp/2010/13/contents/enacted