Communities in Scotland benefit from more than 12.5 million hours of unpaid work
Community Justice Scotland (CJS) notes figures released by the Scottish Government today showing increases in the numbers of Community Payback Orders and average unpaid work hours in 2024-25.
Gemma Fraser, Head of Insights and Intelligence at CJS, said:
“Communities in Scotland have benefitted from more than 12.5 million hours of unpaid work since 2011. This has led to extraordinary change across the country.
Community sentences are tough and transformative, holding people accountable while connecting them to housing, treatment, employment, and purpose. We are driving Scotland’s shift towards community first justice — the only sustainable way to reduce prison numbers and prevent reoffending.
There is an urgent need to build on this progress to create a justice system that reduces harm, cuts costs, and delivers better outcomes for individuals and communities.”
Notes to Editors:
- Justice social work statistics are now published in two parts:
- The full statistical publication is available here.