As the UK's prison system continues to resemble a clown car packed beyond capacity, and the national debate over early releases rages like a hangry toddler, an initiative in the West Midlands offers a genuinely different spin on punishment: convicted offenders cleaning canals instead of counting ceiling tiles in a cell.
The Guardian got a rare peek at the project, where offenders work on improving waterways and green spaces around Smethwick, all part of the community payback scheme that clocked an estimated 5 million hours across England and Wales last year. Because nothing says 'rehabilitation' like pulling condoms out of a canal with a net.
Community payback isn't for everyone, but it covers a wide range of adult offending and can be part of suspended sentences. The Sentencing Act, which got royal assent in January, nudges courts to suspend short custodial sentences of 12 months or less, which will mean more offenders doing community-based punishments. So, instead of a prison uniform, they get a high-vis vest and a litter picker.
When The Guardian visited the Smethwick project last month, the temperature was already in the high 20s by 9:30am - because why not sweat through your penance? Participants arrived at the canal for a day of strimming, cutting back overgrown vegetation, and clearing beer cans, plastic bags, bottles, and (yes) condoms from the towpath and the canal itself. A real 'welcome to the neighborhood' cleanup.
Among them was Steve Warmer, 54, with a painful hip, dressed in a grey tracksuit, recently convicted of an offence that can attract a fine, a driving ban, and up to six months in prison. While two fellow participants were given nets to trawl for rubbish and thick, green duckweed, Warmer was handed a picker and the first of many black rubbish bags. He's a factory worker from Dudley, and he said he's 'the last one standing [alive]' out of his group of friends. 'I actually enjoy this work,' he said. 'It gives me knowledge of life and other people.' He even added: 'Me and my wife now litter pick in our own street.' Because nothing says romance like matching litter pickers.
Not everyone was as chipper as Warmer, who had completed 126 of his 250 hours. In the heat, the work was demanding, with plenty of water breaks needed as the temperature rose further into the afternoon. Because even punishment has to respect the heat index.
Courts can order between 40 and 300 hours of community payback, to be completed within a specific timeframe. Offenders must work up to 28 hours each week over three or four days if unemployed; if employed, it's organized around their work hours. Fail to comply without a reasonable excuse, and it's back to court - and possibly a real cell.
The supervisor on the day was Mo Ghatnoor, who spent 10 years as a corporate banker and now drives the van that transports offenders and equipment to the site. 'This is 100% more fulfilling,' he said. 'I used to help businesses with profit but I was just a voice on the phone. Here I make a difference in the heart of my own community. I help my own mental health and that of others, the community and individuals.' So, from banking to bin-bag duty - a career change that actually helps people.
Other forms of community payback include removing graffiti, decorating public places, and planting trees. Anyone can nominate a project, provided it benefits the community, doesn't take paid work away from others, and doesn't make a profit. Because even punishment shouldn't be a side hustle.
The Sentencing Act will also mean that burglars, shoplifters, and assault convicts spend less time inside. Latest stats from July to September 2024 show that adults released from custody with sentences under 12 months had a reoffending rate of 68.2%, compared to 22.9% for those with sentences of 12 months or more. So, short sentences might just be a crash course in 'how to be a better criminal.'
Critics might see community payback as soft, but Ghatnoor disagrees: 'We look at the individual to whom it gives a structure to their life. It often breaks a negative cycle and changes their mindset, and therefore brings reoffending down.' And hey, if it keeps canals clean and people out of prison, maybe it's worth the snark.