Offenders handed community sentences from home and told to knit as alternative to prison

Criminals are allowed to work on “craft kits” at home as part of soft-touch community punishment.

Restrictions imposed during the pandemic have resulted in all face-to-face unpaid internships being canceled for security reasons.

In response, many municipalities introduced work that could be done at home by offenders as part of community payback orders (CPO).

But despite all Covid restrictions being lifted last March, criminals are still allowed to carry out punishments at home, including completing birdhouse assembly kits.

Scottish Conservative justice spokesman Jamie Greene said: ‘It is extraordinary that a year after the end of Covid restrictions, offenders are still being given craft projects, such as making birdhouses, to carry out at home.

“It’s bad enough that many offenders who should receive jail terms, such as domestic violence, are primarily repaid by the community, thanks to the SNP’s soft justice culture.”

He added: “That is an insult to the victims.”

During the pandemic, offenders were allowed to knit, build hedgehog dens, learn theory exams or participate in “social media training” as an alternative to prison.

Despite all the Covid legal restrictions on people and businesses that ended over a year ago, many counties are still giving criminals work to complete at home.

South Ayrshire Council said 3,909 hours of unpaid work were done using ‘work from home’ packages between 1 April 2022 and 17 January 2023.

This compares to 9,455 in 2021-22 and 3,057 in 2020-21. It said the kits were being used in response to the closure of options for unpaid work in the community.

Dumfries and Galloway council said offenders did 174 hours of unpaid work between 1 April 2022 and 17 January using ‘work from home packages’. This compared to 150 hours in the previous financial year and 350 the year before.

The work-from-home packages would include birdhouse assembly kits and “art projects.”

However, the council said the packages are “not directly related to the circumstances surrounding the Covid restrictions” but are a means by which offenders can perform unpaid work as part of a CPO.

South Lanarkshire said ‘remote’ unpaid work accounted for just eight hours of CPOs in 2020-21, rising to 5,270 hours the following year and 6,538 between April 1, 2022 and January 17.

Scottish Conservative justice spokesman Jamie Greene described the revelation as “extraordinary” and an “insult” to the victims.

In such work, offenders in the area have made security blankets from packets of chips and rugs for animal charities.

In another project, perpetrators make works of art from precious stones. Those who get a CPO have the chance to spend a portion of the hours on “personal development work,” including skills development and educational courses.

‘Mixed learning packs’ for offenders to complete at home would allow them to reflect on ‘issues’ and ‘personal circumstances’ that ‘may be related to why they committed an offence’.

Criminals in Dumfries and Galloway completed 14,337 hours of blended learning in 2020-21, 9,163 hours the following year and 1,471 hours between 1 April 2022 and 17 January.

The council said the use of such packs is “declining as planned following the lifting of Covid-19 restrictions.”

West Dunbartonshire Council said all CPOs in the area are done in person, but added that offenders will also be given ‘additional online learning opportunities’ where necessary.

These can be learning packages about drugs and alcohol and relationships, but also ‘online creative workshops’.

South Ayrshire Council said the use of home craft kits was introduced during the pandemic as a ‘creative means of fulfilling unpaid work hours’ for ‘the benefit of local charities through their donation’.

A spokesperson added: ‘The home craft kits will be phased out after Covid.’

South Lanarkshire Council said the number of hours offenders working remotely has fallen from 28 per cent of the total in 2022 to 18 per cent so far this year, with the number of offenders working remotely also falling. It expects the “stock to fall further.”

A spokesman for the Scottish Government said: ‘The rate of recidivism for individuals reimbursed by the community is consistently lower than for those given short sentences.

“Crime, including violence, has fallen under this government and our focus remains on prevention, effective community interventions and rehabilitation, both in