Date: 14 July 2009 COMMUNITY SERVICE ORDERS RISE BY A THIRD IN FIVE YEARS Figures uncovered by the Scottish Conservatives have shown that community sentences have risen by a third over the past five years in the sheriffdom of Tayside, Central and Fife. In 2003/04, 826 individuals received community service orders but by 2007/08 this had jumped to 1102.
Commenting, Conservative MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Ted Brocklebank, said;
“In Tayside, Central and Fife the number of community service orders has increased by a third over the past five years. The SNP Government has tried to justify its ambition of scrapping short term jail sentences by introducing tougher community sentences. However, community sentences are anything but tough and actually work as a get out of jail free card for offenders.
“An Aberdeen Sheriff recently discovered that one criminal completed only two-and-half hours of a 280-hour community service order. This is completely unacceptable and shows that the SNP Government is more willing to empty Scotland’s jails rather than make sure that the punishment for an offender fits the crime. It is particularly worrying that the Government did not even hold figures for the number of community service hours that had been completed and this is indicative of the SNP’s soft-touch Scotland.
“Plans to scrap sentences of six months or less will leave attackers, fraudsters and muggers free to walk the streets rather than serve time behind bars. The Government should be working to keep our streets safe instead of emptying our jails at any cost.”
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