ABSTRACT
This chapter reflects on what offenders might be able to gain in terms of ‘citizenship’ from performing unpaid work for the community. It reports on various initiatives that began with practitioners during the mid-1990s with the aim of capitalising upon the practical setting within which community service occurs and the nature of the contacts with supervisors and beneficiaries into which it brings offenders. The thinking behind such initiatives was that community service can offer powerful opportunities for offenders to become more active and responsible citizens by learning more socially responsible behaviour, acquiring skills that can be used in employment and developing a greater belief in their capacity to make a valued contribution to society. The Community Service Pathfinder projects funded by the Home Office under the Crime Reduction Programme reflect a concerted effort to apply this thinking and to evaluate the results, representing a move towards evidence-based practice in community service.
