Community Service Orders (CSO)
Community Service Order (CSO) and Probation Order are the two most commonly used community based sentences used by the court in Scotland
Community Services requires an offender to carry out unpaid work which will be of benefit to the community as a whole. Under Scots law a CSO is classed as a direct alternative to custody. An order can be made for a minimum period of 80 hours up to a maximum of 240 hours in the case of summary proceedings i.e. a non-jury trial, or 300 under solemn procedure - a case being heard by a jury.
Work undertaken can vary from individual placements providing support and assistance to elderly or disabled people to "squad" placements involving teams of offenders undertaking outdoor environmental work such as ground clearance and removal of graffiti. All placements are designed not only to be of a direct benefit to the community but also to be demanding and challenging for the offender.
If an offender fails to comply with the terms and conditions of a CSO this can result in a "breach" of the order and the offender being returned to court. If the beach is proved the court may the court can impose a range of penalties including revoking the order and imposing a custodial sentence.
An underpinning principal within the National Standards that govern Community Service is that the work don should not deprive others of paid employment.
In the reporting year 2007-08 a total of 6,202 CSO were made in Scotland. This figure excluded Probation Orders with a condition of unpaid work. Full statistical information can be found in the Criminal Justice Social Work Statistics Bulletin 2007-08 published in December 2008.