Community Payback

Community Payback - how to get involved

In Staffordshire, over 140,000 hours of Community Payback are completed every year by offenders on a community sentence.  This equates to approximately, £812,000 of free labour provided to local communities as offenders pay back for the crimes they have committed.

Community Payback projects range from litter removal to clearing dense under growth, and environmental projects through repairing and redecorating community centres or removing graffiti.  Offenders usually work as part of a team, monitored by a supervisor, and will work all day with short breaks, although there are some opportunities for individual placements. 

To be considered your project must meet the following criteria :-

• it must benefit the local community
• it must not take paid work away from others
• no-one must make a profit from the work
• it must be challenging and demanding
• it must be worthwhile and constructive
• offenders must be seen to be putting something back into the community

The Community Payback team will assess the project for suitability and for health and safety implications.

Once the work has been completed, a plaque will be displayed with the Community Payback logo, if appropriate.  This will indicate where offenders have positively contributed to improving a neighbourhood.

Anyone can nominate a project, so if you are an individual, member of a club, community group, faith group or voluntary organisation and have a project that fits the criteria above, please complete the nomination form or call your local probation head office on 01785 231737.

For further information, please download the leaflet or email staffs.probation@staffordshire.gov.uk.

The Justice Seen Justice Done campaign brought Community Payback to the public's attention and organised a public vote in April 2009 to pick Community Payback projects in a number of Pioneer Areas around the country.  This attracted 18,000 votes and helped to increase the public's awareness of Community Payback.

To view the winning Staffordshire site, click here.