Criminals could fill potholes, clean bins and scrub graffiti under government plans
18 May 2025, 10:16 | Updated: 18 May 2025, 10:19
Convicted criminals could be told to fill potholes and clean bins under government plans.
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Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood reportedly wants to extend unpaid work carried out by convicts, which she thinks is currently too soft.
She wants probation teams to work with councils, so that local authorities are able to assign jobs to offenders.
The offenders would not receive wages, but money earned would go straight into a fund for victims’ groups.
A source close to the Justice Secretary said” “With prisons so close to collapse, we are going to have to punish more offenders outside of prison.
“We need punishment to be more than just a soft option or a slap on the wrist.
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“If we want to prove that crime doesn’t pay, we need to get offenders working for free.”
The government is considering the radical plans to help ease the overcrowding crisis in prisons.
Anyone facing a sentence of less than a year would be spared jail except in exceptional circumstances, under the shake-up due to be unveiled this week, according to The Sun.
At the moment community work can include things like volunteering but the new rules would see criminals being given jobs like repairing roads, or stacking supermarket shelves.
They could also be made to fill in potholes, clear rubbish bins and scrub out graffiti.
