Community payback orders increase 9%

The number of community payback orders (CPOs) issued by Scottish courts increased 9% over a year, figures show.

Official statistics from the Scottish Government reveal 16,500 CPOs commenced over 2024-25, up from 15,114 in 2023-24.

The figures also show average hours given as part of CPO unpaid work requirements increased to the highest number in the last 10 years – from 121 in 2015-16 to 137 in 2024-25.

The number of CPOs in existence increased from 16,800 on March 31 2024 to the highest level in the last decade of 18,300 on March 31 2025.

In 2024-25, 69% of CPOs were issued with an unpaid work requirement, with 67% having a supervision requirement.

The successful completion rate for CPOs in 2024-25 was 71% – the same as in 2023-24.

CPOs sharply dropped to 8,200 during the pandemic years of 2020-21, however the new figures show a rise to just below pre-pandemic levels – which were 16,800 in 2019-20.

Since the introduction of CPOs, 12.5 million hours of unpaid work or other activity have been carried out.

Gemma Fraser, head of insights and intelligence at Community Justice Scotland, praised the benefits of CPOs.

She 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.”

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “Decisions on sentencing, including CPOs, are for the independent courts in each case.

“CPOs make people pay back to the community, while addressing the underlying causes of their offending behaviour. CPOs have a consistently lower reconviction rate compared to short prison sentences.

“Having unpaid work hours to be progressed in the system is normal, as it takes time for individuals to undertake the unpaid work they have been sentenced to. Since the introduction of CPOs, 12.5 million hours of unpaid work have been completed as part of successful unpaid work requirements.”