How community service showed me a different way to live

Repeat offender Josh Andrews admits he was in the last chance saloon when he stood in the dock to be sentenced yet again.

His violence and drugs convictions had already earned him five community payback orders - and he was at grave risk of going to jail for the first time.

But the sheriff decided against prison, after hearing that community justice teams had helped Josh, 25, step away from his addiction to cocaine and cannabis.

Instead, he was given 300 hours, the maximum term of unpaid work, and allowed to stay in the community.

Josh believes prison would have derailed his recovery and left him anchored in a life of crime.

He told BBC Scotland News: "I would probably still be out there in the madness and causing bother.

"I now know through community service that there's a different way to live."

Josh was referred to treatment for his addiction when he was working his way through his fifth community payback order.

That meant he was substance-free when he was back in court to be sentenced for offences that still had to be dealt with.

He has now been clean for nine months and is carrying out various tasks in Midlothian.

These include delivering food to the elderly and working at Mayfield and Easthouses Development Trust, a cafe and community garden built on a disused bowling green.

Josh denied it was an easy option and said it often involved hard graft and an examination of his offending behaviour.

"At first I was quite embarrassed about it but you need to just get on with it," he said.

"I'm getting connected to a community that I was isolated in and I can make amends to the community that I've caused bother in as well."

It is early days as he has only completed around 10% of the unpaid work.

But Josh is optimistic about his future.

"They should give more people the opportunity to come on to a community payback order, rather than jailing them," he added.

"Most of the time people do want to change, they just haven't had that opportunity given to them."

On the impact of the programme, he said: "If I hadn't had treatment, I wouldn't be standing here doing this.

"It's like a stepping stone, on to the next, and the next and the next.

"I'm working now as well. I've managed to build a relationship back with my dad and I'm going to qualify as a gas engineer."

The Scottish government has boosted funding for community justice services by £10m to £169m.

But it still represents a fraction of the overall budget for the criminal justice sector.

In 2024-25, a total of 16,500 community payback orders got under way - an increase of 9% on the previous year.

Of those, 69% involved unpaid work. The successful completion rate was 71%.

Justice Secretary Angela Constance said the orders were robust and effective, with a re-conviction rate of 27%.

This compares with 52% for people serving sentences of just under a year.

Their increased use chimes with the recommendations of an independent commission appointed by the Scottish government to review sentencing and penal policy.

It is calling for a shift away from imprisonment towards crime prevention and community sentences.

But some proposals have proven controversial, such as plans to prohibit sentences under 12 months.

It has also suggested lowering the automatic release point for long-term prisoners to two-thirds of their sentence; and making greater use of compassionate release for elderly and frail inmates, many of whom will be sex offenders.

Constance has pledged to give all of its proposals serious consideration.

She has also defended her proposal to lower the automatic release point for some short-term prisoners, the government's latest attempt to reduce record levels of overcrowding in Scotland's prisons.

Last February, with backing from the Scottish Parliament, the release point came down from 50% of the sentence to 40%.

The change only applied to prisoners serving less than four years, and it excludes those convicted of domestic abuse or sexual offences.

The same rules will apply under Constance's proposal to lower the release point again, to 30% of the jail term.

Many prisoners will serve part of that reduced custodial period in the community, tagged and under a home detention curfew.

The justice secretary's political rivals have accused her of being soft on crime and resorting to desperate measures because of years of failed policies.

Constance said if it was approved by MSPs, the reduction to 30% would be kept under review.

"It's really time that we move on from the knee jerk short term rhetoric," she added.

"It serves no-one. All I'm interested in is solutions and solutions that work for Scotland. Having a high prison population does not make Scotland safer.

"We all need the courage to focus on the evidence on what works, to deliver less victims, fewer crimes and safer communities."