Southampton residents get say on where community service should be done

Now, in an innovative move, one of them is to be given a makeover by the criminals handed community punishments in the city instead of being sent to jail.

And residents are being given the power to choose which one deserves to be cleared up.

The five projects chosen under the Government’s Community Payback scheme range from the grounds of a church and vicarage which have been turned into a haven for vandals and fly-tippers, to a pond where anything from trolleys to old bikes and tyres have been dumped.

Today the Daily Echo is launching its own poll to find out which of the five YOU want to see finished first.

• Click here to vote for the site you want cleaned up

Our results will then be sent to the Government’s Ministry of Justice department and the project with the most votes will get under way.

The new initiative follows the launch of the Community Payback scheme in 2005. More recently, in December last year, high-visibility jackets were also launched, to be worn by the convicts involved in carrying out work in public places.

Southampton is one of 54 places across the country where local people will get to choose where criminals should be put to work.

Readers will be given almost four weeks to vote for the area they most want to see cleared before the winning project is revealed in June.

Neighbourhood crime and justice adviser Louise Casey added: “The public want to know that criminals are made to pay back for their crimes.

“Community Payback schemes make this a reality and very importantly, they also now give the public a say in what criminals must actually do to serve their punishment and pay back to local communities.”

• Click here to vote for the site you want cleaned up