Court Orders involving unpaid work in the community

West Lothian Criminal and Youth Justice Service currently operates five different types of unpaid work order: Community Payback Order (CPO), Community Service Order (CSO), Probation Order with condition of Unpaid Work, Supervised Attendance Order (SAO), and the Procurator Fiscal Work Offer. All these orders offer someone who has committed an offence the opportunity to carry out useful work within the community.

The five different types of unpaid work order currently used in West Lothian are:

  • Community Payback Orders (CPO) - Unpaid Work and Other Activities Requirement. Used for offences committed after 01/02/11, this community sentence can be combined with a number of other requirements to ensure that offenders are involved in a combination of activities that will support them in their efforts to avoid re-offending.
  • Community Service Order (CSO). Used for offences committed before 01/02/11, a CSO is a direct alternative to custody. Range of hours: minimum 80 hours, maximum 240 hours (300 hours on Solemn Procedure).
  • Probation Order with condition of Unpaid Work. Details as for Community Service Order.
  • Supervised Attendance Order (SAO), for non-payment of fines. Used for fines imposed before 01/02/11. Range of hours: minimum 10 hours, maximum 100 hours.
  • Procurator Fiscal Work Offer - a work-based alternative to prosecution offered in the same way as a Procurator Fiscal Fine. Range of hours: minimum 10 hours, maximum 50 hours. This is currently part of a Scottish Government pilot project.

These different orders are similar in many ways. They are all designed to provide an opportunity for people to carry out useful work for the community, either for community groups or individuals in need. The main differences are in their purpose, in the number of hours that can be imposed, and in the punishments that can be used if someone fails to comply without good reason. All these orders and ways of dealing with offending are intended to reduce the unnecessary use of custodial sentences.

All these orders are managed by staff of the Community Payback Team, based in the Civic Centre.