Community Payback Order Annual Return 2023-24
Perth and Kinross Council · 27 November 2024
Back to Housing and Social Wellbeing Committee — 27 November 2024 and its agenda
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Perth and Kinross Council Housing and Social Wellbeing Committee 27 November 2024 COMMUNITY PAYBACK ORDER ANNUAL RETURN 2023-24 Report by Strategic Lead – Children, Families and Justice (Report No. 24/338) 1. PURPOSE 1.1 The Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 places a duty on local authorities to submit an annual return about the operation of Community Payback Orders (CPOs) to Community Justice Scotland (CJS). In turn CJS have a duty to collate all local authority reports and lay a summary report before the Scottish Parliament. The power to direct local authorities on the content of the return remains with Scottish ministers. 1.2 This report introduces the Perth and Kinross CPO Annual Return for 2023-24 in compliance with that requirement. 2. RECOMMENDATION 2.1 It is recommended that the Committee: • Takes assurance about the work being undertaken by the Community Justice Social Work (CJSW) team and the Unpaid Work (UPW) teams in respect of CPOs in Perth and Kinross; • Endorses the contents of this report; and • Requests the Strategic Lead for Children, Families and Justice brings forward an annual report regarding the activity and performance of CPOs. 3. STRUCTURE OF REPORT 3.1 This report is structured over the following sections: • Section 4: Background • Section 5: Conclusion • Appendices
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4. BACKGROUND 4.1 The Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995, as amended, introduced CPOs as the new statutory community disposal. CPO is therefore a generic term which covers a range of disposal options which includes the following: • An offender supervision requirement. • A compensation requirement. • An unpaid work or other activity requirement. • A programme requirement. • A residence requirement. • A mental health requirement. • A drug treatment requirement. • An alcohol treatment requirement. • A conduct requirement. • A restricted movement requirement 4.2 When these requirements are imposed by the Court, it is mandatory that they are overseen by a suitably qualified social worker, except for low-level UPW which includes ‘other activity’. The level of the latter is determined by the number of hours imposed. The CPOs are managed and delivered by the Council’s Justice and Community Safety Service, specifically, the CJSW team and the UPW team. 4.3 CPO Annual Return 4.3.1 The Perth and Kinross CPO Annual Return for the period 2023-24 (Appendix 1) was submitted to CJS in October 2024 and records pertinent CPO activity. 4.3.2 Table 1 below indicates the number of new CPOs imposed and the number of individuals who received this Order. Although a risk was anticipated due to Courts clearing their backlog of cases, the number has remained similar to 2022-23. However, and accepting this is not within this reporting period, it is noted that since April 2024, there has been an increase in new CPOs. This is being closely monitored as this will inform points for discussion with local Sherriffs. Table 1: Number of new CPOs and individuals for the preceding three years, excluding 2020-21 but including 2019-20 which was the last full reporting year before the Covid pandemic Activity 2019-20 2021-22 2022-23 2023-24 New CPOs 353 215 296 294 Individuals with new CPOs 311 202 259 258
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4.3.3 Table 2 below highlights the total number of CPOs with a supervision requirement. Requirement numbers reflect a minor decrease against 2022-23, with the average length in months almost returning to pre Covid pandemic levels. The average length of a supervision requirement continues to remain reasonably stable. Table 2: New Supervision Requirements and average length (months) for the preceding three years, excluding 2020-21 but including 2019-20 which was the last full reporting year before the Covid pandemic Activity 2019-20 2021-22 2022-23 2023-24 CPO with a Supervision Requirement 219 133 193 188 Average length of a Supervision Requirement (months) 14.4 15.3 15.5 14.25 4.3.4 Table 3 below highlights that the average length of an UPW CPO in hours has remained similar over the previous three years. However, the volumes of UPW requirements while increasing, remain 26% lower than pre Covid pandemic levels. As is noted in the CPO Annual Return, this situation is being monitored with the view that, as demand increases, UPW is flexible enough to manage this rise and service these Orders. Table 3: New UPW requirements and average length (hours) for the preceding three years, excluding 2020-21 but including 2019-20 which was the last full reporting year before the Covid pandemic Activity 2019-20 2021-22 2022-23 2023-24 New number of UPW CPOs 271 145 197 200 Average length of UPW CPOs (hours) 142.2 131.9 126.3 133.8 4.3.5 The ‘unpaid work and/or other activity’ requirement was the most imposed of the requirements available to the Court. UPW can be imposed for any period between 20 and 300 hours and ‘other activity’ for 30 hours to 30% of the Order and depends on whichever is lower. The expectation of the order is that the individual’s payback through work and learning will be of benefit to the community. The activities and visibility of UPW is designed to enhance the confidence of the public and improve their understanding of community sentences. The work offered also provides opportunities for individuals to learn new skills which can lead to enhancing their employability prospects and a practical alternative route out of offending. To accommodate and support people to complete their Orders, sessions are delivered over evenings and weekends which allows those who work to continue with their employment or ensure they can manage their childcare and/or family commitments.
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4.3.6 Table 4 below highlights a steady increase in the number of terminations over the preceding three years, with a slight percentage decrease in successful completions during 2023-24. Revocation occurs following either a breach or review of a CPO. A breach is usually because of an individual’s non-compliance with the conditions of their CPO whereas revocation at a review takes place where there are concerns about a person’s progress and their level of risk and potential to re-offend. Following a referral back to Court, the original order may be revoked and the person made subject to a new and potentially longer CPO or a period in custody if their risk is not deemed to be manageable in the community. Although the revocation of Orders has increased, specifically when an Order is reviewed, this is often due to a change in circumstances or behaviour which suggests there is an increased likelihood and risk of re- offending. Table 4: Reasons for CPO terminations for the three preceding years, a excluding 2020-21 but including 2019-20 which was the last full reporting year before the Covid pandemic Year CPO Successfully Completed CPO Revoked (Review) CPO Revoked (Breach) Total 2019-20 273 (67.9%) 23 (5.7%) 80 (19.9%) 402 2021-22 112 (61.5%) 6 (3.3%) 25 (13.7%) 182 2022-23 167 (65.7%) 12 (4.7%) 55 (21.7%) 254 2023-24 188 (61.1%) 25 (8.1%) 62 (20.1%) 308 5. CONCLUSION 5.1 The Council’s Justice Social Work Service remains focussed on improving outcomes for individuals in the justice system and our communities. 5.2 From the data over the previous three years it is apparent that, while the volume of activity has increased, it has yet to return to pre Covid pandemic levels. This is set against the continued backlog of work which the Courts are attempting to address as well as the challenges for the Scottish Prison Service and the increasing prison population. These challenges to date have been addressed at Government level through the promotion of early intervention approaches like Bail Supervision and Diversion from Prosecution. These approaches were adopted early by CJSW to help support and manage people at a lower level in the justice system without Court involvement and remain connected to their families and community. However, when necessary and if merited by the seriousness of the offence, it does not negate the requirement for Court intervention and the imposition of a CPO or custodial sentence when appropriate.
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5.3 Irrespective of the disposal received by a person in the justice system, the aim of CJSW is to manage and support those individuals to address the reasons why they offend and live a more purposeful and productive life. Author Name Designation Contact Details Nicola Rogerson Service Manager – Justice Social Work FBSCommittee@pkc.gov.uk 01738 475000 Approved Name Designation Date Arun Singh Strategic Lead – Children, Families and Justice 14 November 2024
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ANNEX 1. IMPLICATIONS, ASSESSMENTS, CONSULTATION AND COMMUNICATION Strategic Implications Yes/None Community Plan/Single Outcome Agreement Yes Corporate Plan Yes Resource Implications Financial None Workforce None Asset Management (land, property, IST) None Assessments Equality Impact Assessment None Strategic Environmental Assessment None Sustainability (community, economic, environmental) None Legal and Governance None Risk None Consultation Internal None External None Communication Communications Plan None 1. Strategic Implications Community Plan/Single Outcome Agreement 1.1 This section sets out how the proposals relate to the delivery of the Perth and Kinross Community Plan/Single Outcome Agreement in terms of the following priorities: (i) Giving every child the best start in life; (ii) Developing educated, responsible and informed citizens; (iii) Promoting a prosperous, inclusive and sustainable economy; (iv) Supporting people to lead independent, healthy and active lives; and (v) Creating a safe and sustainable place for future generations. This report relates to Objective No. (v). Corporate Plan 1.2 This section sets out how the proposals relate to the achievement of the Council’s Corporate Plan Objectives: (i) Giving every child the best start in life; (ii) Developing educated, responsible and informed citizens; (iii) Promoting a prosperous, inclusive and sustainable economy;
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(iv) Supporting people to lead independent, healthy and active lives; and (v) Creating a safe and sustainable place for future generations. This report relates to Objective No. (v). 1.3 The report also links to the Education and Learning; and the Children, Families and Justice Services Vision, Values and Priorities in respect of the following key Priority area: • Safe and Protected 2. Resource Implications Financial 2.1 This report contains no proposals which would have a financial impact on the Council. Workforce 2.2 There are no workforce implications arising from this report. Asset Management (land, property, IT) 2.3 There are no asset management implications arising from this report. 3. Assessments 3.1 Under the Equality Act 2010, the Council is required to eliminate discrimination, advance equality of opportunity, and foster good relations between equality groups. Carrying out Equality Impact Assessments for plans and policies allows the Council to demonstrate that it is meeting these duties. 3.1.1 The proposals have been considered under the Corporate Equalities Impact Assessment process (EqIA) with the following outcome: (i) Assessed as not relevant for the purposes of EqIA. Strategic Environmental Assessment 3.2 The Environmental Assessment (Scotland) Act 2005 places a duty on the Council to identify and assess the environmental consequences of its proposals. 3.2.1 The proposals have been considered under the Act; however, no action is required as the Act does not apply to the matters presented in this report. This is because the Committee are requested to note the contents of the report only and the Committee are not being requested to approve, adopt or agree to an action or to set the framework for future decisions.
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Sustainability 3.3 Under the provisions of the Local Government in Scotland Act 2003, the Council has to discharge its duties in a way which contributes to the achievement of sustainable development. Under the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 the Council also has a duty relating to climate change and, in exercising its functions must act: • In the way best calculated to delivery of the Act’s emissions reduction targets. • In the way best calculated to deliver any statutory adaption programmes. • In a way that it considers most sustainable. 3.3.1 There are no issues in respect of sustainability from the proposals in this report. Legal and Governance 3.4 This report contains no proposals which would have a legal or governance impact on the Council. 3.5 Not applicable. Risk 3.6 There are no issues in respect of risk from the proposals in this report. 4. Consultation Internal 4.1 Not applicable. External 4.2 Not applicable. 5. Communication 5.1 There are no communication issues in respect of the proposals in this report. 2. BACKGROUND PAPERS 2.1 No background papers, as defined by Section 50D of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 (and not containing confidential or exempt information) were relied on to a material extent in preparing the above report. 3. APPENDICES 3.1 Appendix 1 - Perth and Kinross CPO Annual Return 2023/24