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Community Service Orders

A Community Service Order is an alternative to custody and offers offenders the chance to make reparation for their offences by undertaking unpaid work for the benefit of the community.  The hours on the Order are worked either as part of a team or on an Individual/Personal Placement.  Community Service must present a challenge to the offender and the 'punishment' element is contained in the time they must devote to the Order, the discipline of regular attendance, prompt time-keeping and satisfactory work performance.  Group work parties are available to undertake work 7 days and 4 evenings a week.  To enable maximum compliance work group times are tailored to meet the needs of the client group.

A wide range of work is carried out in Aberdeen and as long as the work carried out by the team does not deprive others of paid employment the list is extensive and includes: painting, gardening and other environmental work, joinery tasks including picture framing, craft work, leaflet/pamphlet distribution, charity bag drops and collections, small removals, taking older people from Sheltered Homes shopping, assisting local voluntary, community and charitable groups.  The work can be carried out either in teams under the supervision of a Task Supervisor, in which case the task must be of a size to accommodate and provide sufficient work for 4 offenders, or in an Individual/Personal Placement where the placement provider supervises the work of an individual offender.

The team is an important part of a range of Criminal Justice Services managed by the Health and Care Service Group which includes a Residential Project, Fieldwork Teams, a Social Work Unit in Craiginches Prison, a Supervised Attendance Order Project and a Drug Treatment and Testing Order Project.

The scheme was one of the first in Scotland when it started in 1977 and is very well developed, catering for around 500 people a year.  The scheme operates under the 'National Objectives and Standards for Social Work Services in the Criminal Justice System' and is funded by Central Government.

The project is based at 11 Willowdale Place – a complex that includes offices, a Joinery Workshop and a Craft Workshop.  The team comprises of a Team Leader, 6 Order Supervising Officers, 1 Personal Placement Officer, a Projects Officer, 7.8 FTE Task Supervisors and 2 Clerical Assistants.

Back to the Criminal Justice Social Work Services  home page.

Contacts

  • Neil Paterson
    Community Service Orders
    11 Willowdale Place
    ABERDEEN
    AB24 5AQ
    Phone: 01224 624317
    Fax: 01224 626544
    Email: npaterson@aberdeencity.gov.uk

  • Kevin Russell
    Community Service Orders
    11 Willowdale Place
    ABERDEEN
    AB24 5AQ
    Phone: 01224 624317
    Fax: 01224 626544
    Email: krussell@aberdeencity.gov.uk

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