Providing a service to the Community

It's a win-win option for everyone, writes Helen O'Callaghan, when those convicted of a crime can avoid jail by doing worthwhile work for the community, such as clearing grafitti, painting walls or restoring playgrounds.

I'm in a toddler play-park in a suburb of Cork city. There are no kids. It’s a Saturday, but cold — grey clouds threaten rain.

The young man power-washing the greasy rubber playground matting, his two companions standing alongside with sweeping brushes, could be council workers or on a Fás scheme. They’re not. They’re doing community service, here because a judge — having considered sending them to prison — decided instead on the alternative: ordering them to do a set amount of hours of unpaid work in the community.