Community Payback

Community Payback

Community Payback is a new scheme offering the people of Cheshire a say as to
how offenders pay back the community by nominating a project for them to complete.  Community Payback is ordered by the court and must be between 40 - 300 hours. 
 
The distinction between Unpaid Work and Community Payback is as follows:
 
Unpaid Work: this is the title of the requirement in Community Orders and Suspended Sentence Orders made by the Court and is set by the legislation.  Proposals to Court for sentencing refer to Unpaid Work and any documentation relating to the actual sentence refer to Unpaid Work.
 
Community Payback: this refers to all of the work done by offenders sentenced to an Unpaid Work Requirement.
 
In broad terms, the sentence is Unpaid Work and everything the offenders subsequently do is Community Payback.
 

During 2009/10 in Cheshire, 170,024 hours of compulsory unpaid work were completed by offenders. This work often goes unnoticed, which is why we are asking Cheshire residents to take part in deciding what kind of work is carried out.

Projects undertaken by offenders that have been of benefit to local communities in Cheshire include:

  • graffiti removal
  • litter clearance
  • repairing and redecorating community centres
  • environmental work, such as maintaining churchyards
  • specialist work at local heritage centres
These Community Payback projects combine visible hard work with the prospect of offenders achieving vocational and crucial life skills. This helps to reduce the risk of re-offending and make the local Cheshire communities safer places to live.
 
If you have a scheme or project which you think would be suitable as a Community Payback project, please complete our nomination form.