Criminals Allowed to Complete 30% of Community Service from Home

Criminals sentenced to community service are being allowed to complete up to 30% of their required hours at home, according to a watchdog report. The HM Inspectorate of Probation found that offenders were spending this time on online education and training (ETE) courses—despite most considering them unhelpful and lacking valid certification.

The report also highlighted inconsistent supervision of offenders completing these courses, which was only monitored in a limited number of locations. It noted that the courses were often used merely as a way to fulfil required hours, rather than providing meaningful rehabilitation. Furthermore, there were no penalties for failing to complete these "mandatory" courses on topics such as health and safety, first aid, and manual labour—despite this constituting a breach of sentencing conditions.

Some judges and magistrates expressed doubts about the suitability of online courses as a form of unpaid work, stating that they did not align with the intended purpose of community service as both punishment and reparation.

The report emphasised the need to maintain public and judicial confidence in unpaid work as a meaningful consequence for offenders. It also found that too many of the completed courses were unaccredited or irrelevant to the individual's circumstances.

Figures from the Ministry of Justice, obtained by The Telegraph last year, revealed that offenders spent over 540,000 hours on online courses in 2023—accounting for 12% of all completed community sentences.

The findings come amid efforts by Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood to address the prison overcrowding crisis. A sentencing review launched last year is expected to recommend greater use of alternatives to incarceration, such as house arrest, electronic tagging, curfews, and community-based punishments—particularly for those who would otherwise serve short prison terms.

Community service is often assigned for crimes such as theft, shoplifting, certain assaults, and criminal damage. Offenders are typically required to complete between 40 and 300 hours within 12 months, depending on the severity of their offense. Of the more than six million hours of unpaid work mandated by courts in 2023, around 4.7 million hours—78%—were completed, while the rest were either cancelled or left unfinished.

The report acknowledged existing shortcomings in online work-from-home courses but stated that efforts were underway to improve them. Chief Inspector of Probation Martin Jones noted that some schemes had made a significant impact, with three-quarters of offenders reporting that they felt they were giving back to society. He emphasised that community service programs should not only focus on reparation but also help offenders gain valuable skills to improve their job prospects.

The Johnson Partnership (Notthingham)