Offenders working in their communities after being sentenced for criminal offences have contributed tens of thousands of hours in North Yorkshire, Humberside and Lincolnshire.

Humberside Lincolnshire & North Yorkshire Community Rehabilitation Company (HLNY CRC), which is responsible for supervising offenders on Community Payback and ensuring they comply with their sentence, delivered 30,548 hours in the first quarter of 2018.

With the national wage standing at £7.83 that equates to £240,000 of work delivered.

Those ordered to take on unpaid Community Payback work participate in a range of manual tasks, including removing graffiti, litter picking, clearing parks and cemeteries, renovating buildings and work in charity shops.

Magistrates or judges can sentence offenders to carry out anything from 40 to 300 hours of unpaid work as part of their order. Community Payback must include a minimum of a day’s work – lasting at least seven hours – once a week. People can also be sentenced to intensive Community Payback orders, which mean they must complete 28 hours of work every week.

All projects combine hard work and the chance for the participant to develop skills. It is also a punishment as the individual is giving up their time to carry out the work.

Community sentences can be given for crimes including damaging property, benefit fraud and assault. They are often handed out by judges and magistrates when the offender is appearing at court for the first time or when it is thought such a sentence may be more likely to stop an offender committing crimes than a prison sentence.

Martin Davies, chief executive of HLNY CRC, said: “Community payback provides a tough, effective and visible punishment requiring people to undertake challenging work while giving something back to communities where they live.

“It also provides an opportunity for people to turn their experience into a positive one by picking up new skills that can help them towards paid employment and leading more stable, positive and crime-free lives.”

*The Community Payback Team in CRC would like to hear about other projects which residents think will make a real difference to their community. More About Community Payback. Nominate a project here.