Criminal offenders deliver more than 30,000 hours of unpaid work across Lincolnshire

Criminal offenders working in their communities after being sentenced have delivered more than 30,000 hours of work in Lincolnshire, it can be revealed.
Offenders removing grafitti as part of the community payback scheme. Picture: Robin Jones. EMN-180105-124506001Offenders removing grafitti as part of the community payback scheme. Picture: Robin Jones. EMN-180105-124506001
Offenders removing grafitti as part of the community payback scheme. Picture: Robin Jones. EMN-180105-124506001

Humberside Lincolnshire & North Yorkshire Community Rehabilitation Company (HLNY CRC), which is responsible for supervising offenders on community payback, delivered 30,548 hours in the first four months of 2018.

With the national wage standing at £7.83, this equates to £240,000 of work delivered.

Manual tasks for offenders taking on unpaid community payback work include removing graffiti, litter picking, clearing parks and cemeteries, renovating buildings, and working in charity shops.

Chief executive of HLNY CRC, Martin Davies, said: “Community payback provides a tough, effective and visible punishment requiring people to undertake challenging work while giving something back to communities where they live.

“It also provides an opportunity for people to turn their experience into a positive one by picking up new skills that can help them towards paid employment and leading more stable, positive and crime-free lives.”

Magistrates or judges can sentence offenders to carry out between 40 to 300 hours of unpaid work, and community payback must include a minimum of a days work - equal to at least seven hours work - once a week.

Offenders can also be handed an intensive community payback order, which means they must complete 28 hours of work a week.

Sentences can be given out for crimes such as damaging property, benefit fraud and assault.

They are often handed out by a judge or magistrate when the offender is appearing at court for the first time, or when it is thought such a sentence may be more likely to stop an offender commiting crimes than a prison sentence.

• The community payback team in Humberside, Lincolnshire and North Yorkshire would like to hear about other projects which residents think will make a real difference to their community. Nominate a project here.