5. Community payback orders (CPOs)

(Tables 1 & 5 to 14 and Charts 2-9)

5.1 Orders imposed

(Table 5)

Key statistics for 2024-25: 

• Around 16,500 CPOs were issued in 2024-25. This was nine per cent higher than in 2023-24 and the fifth highest in the last decade.
• Eighty-six per cent of CPOs imposed in 2024-25 were issued to males.
• Where ethnicity was recorded, 94 per cent of CPOs were for people who classified themselves as white.
• Where employment status was known, 71 per cent of those receiving CPOs were either unemployed or economically inactive. A further 28 per cent were in employment or self-employed.

A community payback order (CPO) can be imposed by courts. It is a sentence which is delivered in the community.

The number of CPOs issued in 2024-25 was 16,500, up nine per cent on 2023-24 and the highest since 2019-20 (Chart 2).

Chart 2: Community payback orders have increased for four consecutive years, reaching their highest level since before the pandemic.

Annual community payback orders issued by courts in Scotland: 2015-16 to 2024-25

There was a rise in the number of CPOs in the initial years following their introduction on 1st February 2011. Numbers reached a peak of 19,500 in 2015-16. The total CPOs imposed then fell in the next three years to 16,500 in 2018-19, before a small rise to 16,800 in 2019-20. The pandemic and the resulting decrease in court business meant numbers fell sharply in 2020-21, to 8,200. Numbers recovered in each of the next four years, reaching 16,500 in 2024-25, similar to the level just prior to the pandemic.

Chart 3: The number of CPOs imposed per 10,000 population ranged from 17.9 to 65.6 in 2024-25.

CPOs imposed per 10,000 population for Scotland and local authority areas, 2024-25.

Note: Population estimates used for this graph are the mid-2024 estimates for the age range 16 to 70.

As expected with the rise in CPOs imposed nationally, the number imposed per 10,000 population rose from 39 in 2023-24 to 42 in 2024-25 (Chart 3). Twenty-six of the 32 Scottish local authorities saw a rise in the number of CPOs imposed over this period.

In 2024-25, the highest number of CPOs imposed per 10,000 population was for those living in West Dunbartonshire (66), East Ayrshire (61) and Aberdeen City (59). The lowest population rates were for those living in Shetland Islands (18), East Dunbartonshire (21) and East Lothian (21). While the rate for City of Edinburgh (24) was much lower than for Scotland as a whole, the city council areas of Aberdeen (59), Glasgow (56) and Dundee (53) were each higher than the national average. More detailed information by local authority area is in the additional datasets which accompany this publication.

People aged 26 to 40 accounted for 48 per cent of people getting a CPO in 2024-25. This was much higher than for those aged over 40 (29 per cent). By contrast, in the population as a whole aged 16 to 70 in Scotland, 28 per cent were aged 26 to 40 and 55 per cent were aged over 40.

The average age of people getting a CPO has risen every year apart from 2022-23, rising from 31.1 years in 2013-14 to 35.1 years in 2024-25. In 2024-25, 22 per cent of CPOs were for people aged 25 and under. Those aged over 30 accounted for 62 per cent.

5.2 Requirements

(Tables 6 to 8)

Key statistics for 2024-25: 

• In 2024-25, 69 per cent of CPOs were issued with an unpaid work requirement. Slightly less (67 per cent) were issued with a supervision requirement.
• The average number of hours given as part of unpaid work requirements rose from 121 hours in 2015-16 to 137 hours in 2024-25.

There are ten potential requirements as part of a CPO at first imposition:

• Unpaid work or other activity
• Offender supervision
• Conduct
• Programme
• Alcohol treatment
• Compensation
• Drug treatment
• Mental health treatment
• Residence
• Restricted movement

Every order should have either or both an ‘unpaid work or other activity requirement’ or an ‘offender supervision requirement’. In the publication, these are generally referred to as ‘unpaid work requirements’ and ‘supervision requirements’ respectively.

Chart 4: The proportion of CPOs with unpaid work or supervision requirements has remained stable at just under 70 per cent for the past three years

Percentage of unpaid work and supervision among CPOs imposed in Scotland, 2015-16 to 2024-25

For every year up to 2019-20, unpaid work was the requirement most issued as part of a CPO (Chart 4). The proportion of orders with unpaid work was high in the early years, covering 78 per cent of orders in 2015-16. This then fell slightly in each of the next four years, reaching 70 per cent in 2019-20. It fell sharply to 58 per cent in 2020-21 during the pandemic, before increasing to 68 per cent in both 2022-23 and 2023-24 and 69 per cent in 2024-25. It again became the most issued requirement in 2024-25.

The proportion of orders with a supervision requirement rose each year between 2015-16 and 2019-20 reaching 62 per cent (Chart 4). The proportion then rose sharply in 2020-21 to 73 per cent during the pandemic. It fell slightly to 71 per cent in 2021-22 and has sat at around 67 to 68 per cent across each of the years 2022-23 to 2024-25.

Chart 5: In the past decade, longer supervision requirements (over 18 months) have increased, while those lasting over 12 but up to 18 months have declined.

Breakdown of supervision requirements by length, in months (percentages), 2015-16 to 2024-25

Chart 5 shows that, over the last ten years, more supervision requirements had a length of more than six and up to 12 months than any other length. They accounted for around half of all supervision requirements, though this was slightly lower in the pandemic years. The biggest rise in percentage over the last ten years was for those with more than 18 months and up to 24 months, from 16 to 19 per cent. On the other hand, the biggest fall was for those with more than 12 months and up to 18 months, from 24 to 20 per cent.

The average length of supervision requirements across 2015-16 to 2019-20 remained steady, ranging from 15.4 to 15.7 months. It was, however, much higher in 2020-21 (16.6 months) and in 2021-22 (16.9 months) during the pandemic, before falling to 16.2 months in both 2023-24 and 2024-25.

Even though the proportion of CPOs imposed with an unpaid work requirement in 2024-25 was the fifth lowest in ten years, changes in the length of hours have been occurring. The average number of hours given as part of unpaid work requirements rose from 121 hours in 2015-16 to 137 hours in 2024-25. A major driver behind this increase is level 2 requirements (i.e. those with more than 100 hours) have increased from 52 per cent of all unpaid work requirements in 2018-19 to 58 per cent in 2024-25.

Chart 6: Over the last decade, for unpaid work requirements, the proportion where more than 100 hours were imposed has increased.

Breakdown of unpaid work or other activity requirements by number of hours (percentages), 2015-16 to 2024-25

Chart 6 gives more detail on how the number of hours imposed has changed for unpaid work requirements over the last decade. In 2015-16, 53 per cent of requirements were issued with up to 100 hours (level 1). By 2024-25, this had reduced to 42 per cent. By contrast, over the same period, there has been an increase in the prevalence of those issued with between 101 to 200 hours, from 37 per cent to 44 per cent. The increase in range for 101 to 200 hours imposed has contributed to the rise in average hours over the decade. The proportion of those with 201 to 300 hours imposed has also been rising, from ten per cent in 2015-16 to 14 per cent in 2024-25.

Chart 7 shows how the total number of hours of unpaid work imposed by courts each month varied across the last seven years. In the period between April 2019 and February 2020, around 110,000 to 140,000 hours were given out by courts each month. After the first lockdown of the pandemic in March 2020, numbers dropped sharply and, although they increased in the rest of 2020, they remained at much lower levels. In early 2021, following the second national lockdown, numbers dropped sharply again, though not as dramatically as with the first lockdown in March 2020. Since February 2021, hours imposed has been on a generally upward trend, averaging around 130,000 per month across year 2024-25.

Chart 7: Unpaid work hours imposed dropped sharply at the start of the pandemic but have now returned to pre-pandemic levels.

Number of hours of unpaid work or other activity requirements issued as part of CPOs imposed, April 2019 to March 2025

Note: Dashed line indicates the pandemic years 2020-21 to 2021-22.

Chart 8: Conduct requirements have more than doubled in a ten year period.

Prevalence of different CPO requirements (excluding supervision and unpaid work), 2015-16 and 2024-25

Chart 8 shows that, after unpaid work and supervision, conduct and programme were the most issued of the remaining requirements in 2024-25. The prevalence of both of these requirements has increased over the last ten years. The proportion of orders with conduct requirements has risen every year except one, up from six per cent in 2015-16 to 15 per cent in 2024-25. The proportion of orders with a programme requirement has risen from five per cent in 2015-16 to seven per cent in 2024-25.

After falling slightly in 2022-23, the average number of requirements per order rose in the next two years, reaching 1.66 in 2024-25. This was the highest level in the last ten years.

5.3 Time taken for orders/unpaid work requirements to finish

(Table 14 & Figure 1)

Key statistics for 2024-25:

• On average, 134 hours were done as part of unpaid work requirements successfully completed during 2024-25.
• Around 12.5 million hours of unpaid work or other activity have been carried out since CPOs were introduced.
• It took just under nine months on average to successfully complete an unpaid work requirement in 2024-25.

The number of unpaid work requirements successfully completed fell by 24 per cent between 2015-16 and 2019-20, before decreasing sharply in the first pandemic year 2020-21. Numbers rose in each of the next four years, reaching 7,100 in 2024-25. This was still slightly lower than pre-pandemic. Since the introduction of CPOs, around 12.5 million hours of unpaid work or other activity have been carried out as part of successful unpaid work requirements.

On average, there were 134 hours carried out for each requirement in 2024-25. This was the highest in the last ten years and two per cent higher than in 2023-24.

It took just under nine months (262 days) on average to complete an unpaid work requirement in 2024-25, a reduction of 13 days from 2023-24. The average in 2024-25 was shorter than in the previous four years but longer than in the years 2015-16 to 2019-20, when it was around 213 days.

The longer periods of recent years was expected, particularly over the years 2020-21 to 2022-23, as a result of the Coronavirus (Scotland) Act 2020. Over the period from April 2020 to September 2022, this extended time limits for completion of existing unpaid work requirements in CPOs by 12 months, and required any new requirements made to be given at least 12 months to complete.

Figure 1: Percentage of CPOs finished from year imposed, Scotland, 2017-18 to 2024-25

Year of imposition	2017-18	2018-19	2019-20	2020-21	2021-22	2022-23	2023-24	2024-25	Still being processed
2017-18	28%	55%	15%	2%	low	low	low	low	0%
2018-19	z	28%	55%	13%	3%	1%	low	low	low
2019-20	z	z	26%	43%	25%	5%	1%	low	low
2020-21	z	z	z	9%	58%	27%	5%	1%	1%
2021-22	z	z	z	z	14%	57%	23%	5%	1%
2022-23	z	z	z	z	z	18%	57%	19%	6%
2023-24	z	z	z	z	z	z	20%	55%	26%
2024-25	z	z	z	z	z	z	z	20%	80%

Notes:

Calculated as row percentages. The row headings refer to the year imposed while the column headings refer to the year finished.

z = data for a category that does not apply

low = less than 0.5%

Figure 1 illustrates how CPOs are continually being processed by the justice social work system over a period spanning different years. For example, during 2024-25, there were CPOs being processed through the system which were imposed in each of the years 2017-18 to 2024-25. Figure 1 also shows the effect which the pandemic had on how long orders took to finish.

There was a consistent pattern for CPOs imposed in the years 2017-18 to 2018-19 in that generally:

• Just under 30 per cent of CPOs were finished in the same financial year in which they were imposed.
• Around 55 per cent finished in the following year.
• Around 13 to 15 per cent finished in the second year after the imposed year.

The effect of the pandemic and changes in legislation can be seen in the percentage of orders being imposed and finished in the same year. For the last five years this ranged between nine and 20 per cent, while it was between 26 and 28 per cent for the years 2017-18 to 2019-20.

The percentage of CPOs finishing the next year was around 55 to 58 per cent for the years 2017-18 to 2024-25, apart from those imposed in 2019-20 and finishing in 2020-21 which reduced to 43 per cent, during the height of the pandemic. Even though these percentages were quite stable on the whole, the effect of fewer orders finishing in the year of imposition from 2020-21 onwards, has increased the proportion which finished in the second year after imposition. This has ranged between 19 and 27 per cent for orders imposed in the years 2019-20 to 2022-23, compared to 13 to 15 per cent for those imposed in 2017-18 to 2018-19.

For 2024-25, 20 per cent were completed within the year of imposition, similar to 2023-24. The remaining 80 per cent were still being processed in 2025-26.

5.4 Timescales for implementation

(Tables 9 to 10)

Key statistics for 2024-25:

Where this information was known:

• Sixty-five per cent of first direct contacts took place within one working day of imposition.
• Seventy-four per cent of first induction/case management meetings took place within five working days.
• Sixty-nine per cent of unpaid work placements started within seven working days.

Across all CPOs where this information was known, first direct contact took place within one working day of imposition for 65 per cent of orders imposed in 2024-25. This was slightly lower than in 2023-24, and lower than in the years before the pandemic, when it generally fluctuated between 75 to 77 per cent. In addition, in 2024-25, 17 per cent took more than five working days.

In 2023-24, where this information was known, 74 per cent of first induction/case management meetings took place within five working days. This was slightly down on 2023-24 and slightly lower than the levels pre-pandemic. Thirteen per cent took six to ten working days and 12 per cent took more than ten working days in 2024-25.

Where the timescale was known,  69 per cent of unpaid work placements started within seven working days in 2024-25. This was slightly down on 2023-24 and was generally around the same level as the years prior to the pandemic.

The lower proportions in 2020-21 and 2021-22 for these timescales were likely to have been influenced by the pandemic and related public health measures to keep people safe.

5.5 Orders finished

(Tables 1 & 11 to 13)

Key statistics for 2024-25:

• The successful completion rate for CPOs finished in 2024-25 was 71 per cent, similar to the rates prior to the pandemic.
• Seventy-seven per cent of orders which finished during 2024-25 did not involve any breach applications during the duration of the order.

Orders finished include those that have been successfully completed or discharged early, orders that have been revoked due to review or breach and those finished due to death or other reasons. Those that transfer to other areas are also considered finished in the local authority that the individual has left and are included in the figures for the new local authority they have transferred to.

The successful completion rate for CPOs finished in 2024-25 was 71 per cent, the same as in 2023-24. The rates for the most recent two years are lower than the three previous years, confirming a return to levels similar to the pre-pandemic years. The completion rate is calculated by adding together the number of successful completions and early discharges, then dividing this by the total orders finished less orders which were transferred out of a local authority to a different area.

In 2024-25, among orders finished which were not transferred out, 15 per cent were revoked following a breach application to the courts. A further eight per cent were revoked following a review.

Seventy-seven per cent of orders which finished during 2024-25 did not involve any breach applications during the duration of the order. For the remainder, there were a total of 4,300 breach applications made. The vast majority of breach applications (85 per cent) were lodged with the court within five working days of the decision to make an application.

For CPOs revoked due to breach, the most likely outcome from courts (where the outcome was known) was a new CPO at 34 per cent. For a further 29 per cent, it was a custodial sentence. Those where there was no further action for social work accounted for a further 17 per cent of orders revoked due to breach.

For CPOs revoked due to review, 24 per cent of those where the outcome was known resulted in a custodial sentence and another 23 per cent got a new CPO or a monetary penalty. The largest proportion, 37 per cent, resulted in no further action for social work. The category “no further action for social work” covers instances where any further action did not have social work involvement and the local authority were not advised of any further penalty e.g. an admonition or where the case was discharged.

5.6     Orders in existence at year end

(Table 1 and Chart 9)

Key statistics for 2024-25:

• The number of CPOs in existence on 31 March 2025 rose to 18,300, the highest level in the last ten years.

The number of CPOs in existence increased from 16,800 on 31 March 2024 to 18,300 on 31 March 2025, an increase of nine per cent. This was the highest in the last ten years.

Chart 9 shows how the numbers in existence changed throughout the last seven years. Numbers fell during 2018 then rose slightly between the middle of 2019 and the start of the pandemic. They then went down sharply in the period between March and August 2020, reflecting the closure over this period of many courts. Numbers picked up during the rest of 2020 as more cases were processed by the courts.

The sharp drop shown in March 2021 was greatly influenced by The Community Orders (Coronavirus) (Scotland) Regulations 2021 coming into force. Under these regulations, unpaid work hours for existing orders were reduced by 35 per cent (except for certain offences).

Since May 2021, the number of CPOs in existence has consistently risen. There are a number of factors behind this over this time period:

• The Coronavirus (Scotland) Act 2020, which extended the time limits for the completion of existing unpaid work requirements in CPOs by 12 months and required that any new requirements imposed during the period in which the legislation was in force had a time limit of at least 12 months. This no longer applied after September 2022.
• Section 5.3 shows that the progression of CPOs has improved since the pandemic but is still below pre-pandemic level.
• The nine per cent rise in CPOs imposed in 2024-25 has contributed to a nine per cent increase in orders in existence by 31 March 2025, compared to March 2024.

Chart 9 : The number of CPOs in existence fell to lower levels during the pandemic years in 2020 and 2021 but have since increased, reaching 18,300 in March 2025.

Number of CPOs in existence in Scotland, at the end of each month from March 2019 to March 2025

Note: In order to better illustrate changes over the period covered by this graph, the vertical axis does not begin at number zero.