Community service like 'holiday camp'

Louise Casey, who helped to develop the community payback scheme, called for a "revolution" in the way it was implemented as Policing and Justice Minister Nick Herbert said criminals were effectively sticking two fingers up at the system. The remarks, which follow an undercover investigation by ITV1's Tonight programme, come as Justice Secretary Kenneth Clarke considers plans for a "rehabilitation revolution" which could see more offenders given community punishments instead of short prison sentences.

Mr Herbert said the examples of lax supervision were "totally unacceptable" and added: "Offending should always have consequences, and those who commit crimes must be punished properly with sentences administered rigorously.

"The scenes in this film where offenders effectively stick two fingers up to the system made me extremely angry."

The Government was planning to reform the system, he said.

Ms Casey called for a revolution in the way the scheme was implemented.

She told the programme: "Some of those people on community payback have committed quite serious offences, some of them including violent offences, yet they're on a kind of a version of a holiday camp. The punishment as it is at the moment isn't punishment."

The Tonight investigation, was filmed in Manchester, Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire and reveals a range of problems.

Tonight: Community Dis-Service? is on ITV1 at 7.30pm today.