In particular, the council wants to know what residents think about the unpaid work part of a CPO, which replaced community service in 2011. This is when an individual who has committed an offence does unpaid work within the community. Below are some of the key questions the council is interested in:

• Have you experienced people doing unpaid work in your community?
• Do you believe unpaid work gives people the opportunity to repay the community for their offences?
• Do you have any thoughts about residents, community projects or organisations who could benefit from unpaid work support by individuals completing CPOs?

Councillor Val Walker, culture and communities committee convener, said: “One major goal of the consultation is to find new areas and opportunities in the capital for unpaid work to be undertaken.

“Past examples of this work include community clear-ups, repainting community centres and the ‘Brake The Cycle’ scheme, wherein individuals serving CPOs are involved in renovating bicycles, learning new skills and gaining confidence in themselves and their wider community. These along with other activities allow key organisations such as charities to receive support whilst simultaneously allowing individuals serving CPOs to give back to their communities.

“Through this consultation and collection of information we want to promote more discussion with communities about unpaid work opportunities. These processes are key to properly understanding how CPOs help not only the individuals serving them in terms of reoffending, but the tangible benefits these brings to communities across our capital city.”

This consultation opened on 4 July 2022 and will run until 25 September 2022.