The Independent Prison Commission's report praised the local services, and called on other local authorities to follow in Falkirk's footsteps.

Former First Minister Henry McLeish was chairman of the Scottish Prisons Commission which carried out the investigation into the country's prisons.

The commission also travelled to New York and Europe to find out how community services are carried out elsewhere.

Mary Hamilton, who is in charge of the Community Service team at Falkirk, believes a combination of factors have contributed to the glowing praise which the service has received.

She said: "The Prison Commission's report commented on the enthusiasm of the staff here.

"We have excellent working relationships with court staff and with the sheriffs which is vital as we can discuss any problems or difficulties.

"Because we are in the same building as those in charge of bail supervision and probation, it makes it easier to communicate with each other."

One of the strong points for Falkirk is the speed at which the community service process starts. Whenever someone in Falkirk Sheriff
Court receives a sentence involving community service, they are immediately approached by a court social worker and given an appointment to attend at the social work department that afternoon.

Mary said: "They leave court and make their way here, where they are
interviewed by community service officers who can then get a general gist about what skills they have, and what skills they might like to improve.

"They are then instructed to attend within five days, where they are given a health and safety induction in terms of what tools they will be using, and then that's them started.

"Because they come in on the day they've appeared in court, they are at their most motivated, partly through relief that they're not in prison."

Offenders are given a particular day of the week that they must attend on, but there are also evening groups and a Saturday morning session to accommodate people who are working.

Mary said: "It is quite unusual for these times to be offered to people doing community service, but they are often our busiest ones."

The work groups of around five people are always accompanied by a supervisor who, according to Mary, has a very challenging role.

She said: "They're dealing with different abilities, skills and problems.

"As well as motivating them to do the work, they have to keep the discipline of the group while being aware of their needs.

"If someone doesn't attend on the day they're supposed to, and hasn't made any contact, we will phone them and make home visits, before writing to them.

"If they're off for a medical reason, they are required to provide a doctor's certificate.

"If they're off because they can't be bothered to attend, they are given a warning.

"After three warnings, then we will write to the court and it will represent a breach of their order.

"People have mental health and drug and alcohol problems as well as other difficulties in their lives, so we do try to be as flexible as we can while following the orders of the court."

Only offenders who are assessed as having a low risk of re-offending, and who are motivated to complete community service, will be accepted into the scheme.

And the work carried out by offenders can often be beneficial for the community.

Mary said: "We do painting and decorating in church and community halls, as well as gardening and landscaping work.

"We played a big part in the developing of the garden at the sensory centre, and we have done a lot of work at the skate park too.

"People really don't realise how much is being done in their community by people who are carrying out their community service hours."

Some offenders carry out their hours in either arts and crafts or wood
workshops, with their items being sold for charity at fetes and fairs.

In addition to completing their service, offenders can also work towards certificates and qualifications.

Mary said: "As well as being a punishment, we are trying to reduce re-
offending in the long run.

"If we can get them into employment, they have got more to lose and are
less likely to offend.

"We have had people go on to get jobs in the health service, and someone else went off to university."

Henry McLeish had nothing but praise for the work being done in Falkirk.

He told The Falkirk Herald: "We accepted that prison has a very important role to play in terms of serious crime and there is no alternative to that.

"On the other hand, there are a considerable number of people who are in prison on short sentences – 83 per cent of people sentences to prison in Scottish courts are sent for less than six months.

"We were keen to highlight the best examples in the world, and we think that Falkirk is one of those.

"We were impressed that the community sentencing looked like a real punishment.

"They ensured that it looked like a sentence because it starts immediately

"The whole court process works really efficiently.

"Most criminal justice services should take a leaf out of Falkirk's book, and if they did, that would take us forward."

The Prison Commission report is now before the Scottish Government, who will make a decision on how to proceed with its recommendations.