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4. Community Service Orders - excluding Probation Orders with a Requirement of Unpaid Work (Charts 7 to 11 and Tables 15 to 24)
4.1 A total of 5,927 CSOs (excluding Probation Orders with a Requirement of Unpaid Work) were made in 2005-06. This represents an increase of 6 per cent from the 2004-05 total of 5,573.
Chart 7 Number of Community Service Orders (1) 2001-02 to 2005-06
1. Excludes Probation Orders with a Requirement of Unpaid Work.
4.2 The incidence of CSOs (excluding Probation Orders with a Requirement of Unpaid Work) was 16.4 per 10,000 population in 2005-06. This rate was highest in Dundee City (33.5), North Lanarkshire (26.2) and Inverclyde (25.1), and lowest in Shetland Islands (5.2), Aberdeenshire (7.4) and East Dunbartonshire (8.9). Similarly, the rate varied across Community Justice Authorities with the highest in Glasgow (22.1) and the lowest in Northern (10.8).
Chart 8 Number of CSOs (1) per 10,000 population by Local Authority, 2005-06
1. Excludes Probation Orders with a Requirement of Unpaid Work.
4.3 Male offenders accounted for 88 per cent of CSOs (excluding Probation Orders with a Requirement of Unpaid Work). Females receiving CSOs tended to be older, with 61 per cent of such orders relating to over 25 year olds. The corresponding proportion for males was 48 per cent.
4.4 CSOs (excluding Probation Orders with a Requirement of Unpaid Work) were relatively more common amongst young offenders, with 59.0 orders per 10,000 population for 18-20 year olds and 41.2 orders per 10,000 population for 21-25 year olds.
Chart 9 Community Service Orders (1) by Age and Gender of Offender, 2005-06
Orders per 10,000 population
1. Excludes Probation Orders with a Requirement of Unpaid Work.
4.5 The average length of a CSO (excluding Probation Orders with a Requirement of Unpaid Work) in 2005-06 was 146 hours, slightly lower than the 149 hours in 2004-05. On average, males (148 hours) received slightly longer orders than females (134 hours).
4.6 The employment status of offenders provides an indication of whether the offender is likely to be available for work during normal working hours (i.e. weekdays between 9 am and 5 pm). Fifty-two per cent of CSOs (excluding Probation Orders with a Requirement of Unpaid Work) were given to offenders who were either unemployed or not seeking employment. One third were employed or self employed, in full time education or on a government sponsored training scheme. However a further 14 per cent were recorded under 'other' employment status, including all Perth's cases where more detailed information was unavailable and instances in other authorities where the employment status was not known or missing.
4.7 Males receiving CSOs were relatively more likely to be employed (33 per cent) than females (19 per cent), while females were more likely to be not seeking employment (12 per cent as opposed to 5 per cent of males).
Breach Applications of Community Service Orders
4.8 There were 1,502 breach applications made to the Courts in 2005-06 in respect of CSOs (excluding Probation Orders with a Requirement of Unpaid Work). This represented a very slight increase compared with the 1,498 breach applications in 2004-05.
Chart 10 Breach Applications of CSOs (1,2) by Main Outcome, 2001-02 to 2005-06
1. Excludes Probation Orders with a Requirement of Unpaid Work.
2. The figures for breach applications in 2004-05 have been revised since the previous publication due to updated information from East Ayrshire.
4.9 The number of breach applications is not directly comparable with the number of orders provided previously (which covers new orders only) as some of the breach applications may relate to orders started in the previous year. However, as CSOs must be completed within a 12 month period, the number of orders started in 2005-06 (5,927 excluding Probation with Unpaid Work) can be taken as a proxy measure for the number of orders active during the year. This suggests that around 25 per cent of orders resulted in a breach application.
4.10 Sixteen per cent of breach applications resulted in the original order being revoked and a custodial sentence imposed, an increase from 13 per cent in 2004-05. A further 26 per cent of breaches resulted in the original order being revoked and some other action taken. In 10 per cent of applications, the original order was continued and no further action taken by the court and in 4 per cent of applications, a warrant for apprehension/recall was made. The outcome was not yet known for 28 per cent of breach applications made in 2005-06, a decrease from 34 per cent in 2004-05.
4.11 Males accounted for 89 per cent of breach applications. As males also accounted for a similar proportion of all new orders (see paragraph 4.3), this suggests that breach applications are as likely to occur for males as for females.
4.12 An outcome of revoked and custody was more common amongst males (16 per cent) than females (10 per cent). The outcome of order revoked and probation was a more likely outcome for females (8 per cent) than for males (5 per cent).
Terminations of Community Service Orders
4.13 A total of 5,093 CSOs (excluding Probation Orders with a Requirement of Unpaid Work) were terminated in 2005-06, an increase of 6 per cent from the 2004-05 total of 4,813. Sixty-four per cent of these orders were successfully completed, 6 per cent were revoked following a review, nineteen per cent of orders were revoked following a breach application to the courts and the remaining 11 per cent were terminated for other reasons (including transfer to another area and death of the offender).
4.14 Females (66 per cent) were slightly more likely to complete their orders successfully than males (64 per cent).
Chart 11 Terminations of CSOs (1) by Reason, 2001-02 to 2005-06
1. Excludes Probation Orders with a Requirement of Unpaid Work.
2. Includes transfers out of the area and death.
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