Crime clean-up sentences scrapped

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Sentences aimed at making criminals clean up their communities are to be scrapped, ministers have announced.

Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill said community reparation orders had a poor take-up by courts but the move has been criticised by Labour.

Electronic monitoring of people on bail will also go, Mr MacAskill said.

The Conservatives said the move was an example of the SNP's drive to "empty prisons", regardless of the needs of public safety.

The decision to end funding for both schemes in December was revealed in a parliamentary reply to Nationalist backbencher Nigel Don.

It's only right that people caught vandalising are made to clean up their mess Paul MartinLabour community safety

Community reparation orders were made available to district and sheriff courts for summary cases as part of a pilot in Dundee, Highland and Inverclyde by the previous Labour-Lib Dem administration.

Recent research found that during the first 20 months of the scheme, 74 were imposed - well below the expected 550 per year.

Mr MacAskill also said that the electronic monitoring of bail pilots had shown they were little used and of limited effectiveness.

'Refused bail'

"The evaluation of the community reparation orders pilots indicate that the penalties were not well understood or used," Mr MacAskill stated, while stressing that the Scottish Government was still committed to the concept of reparation.

Labour community safety spokesman Paul Martin said it was "shocking" that the SNP had ditched reparation orders before knowing what would stand as a replacement.

"It's only right that people caught vandalising are made to clean up their mess," he said.

Commenting on the tagging decision, Scottish Tory leader Annabel Goldie said: "If a court decides that somebody can be granted bail but should be tagged, and tagging is to be scrapped, then presumably these people will now be refused bail.

"Sadly, this will almost certainly not be the case, because of the SNP's drive to empty our prisons, regardless of the greater needs of public safety."