Offenders sentenced to community work have contributed tens of thousands of hours to projects in Dunedin in the past year.
Offenders who spoke to the Otago Daily Times said the punishment was a rewarding experience which had helped them see the error of their ways.
Numbers provided by the Department of Corrections showed 627 offenders sentenced to community work contributed 67,712 hours to projects in the community in 2016.
``This is a significant contribution to the local community,'' Corrections Southern regional commissioner Ben Clark said.
``Many community organisations depend on the support of volunteers and are on extremely tight budgets.
``Community work gives offenders the opportunity to take responsibility for their offending and give back to the community in a meaningful way.''
When sentenced to community work, an offender is required to give back to the community which their offending has affected by working for free for local community and non-profit groups. Generally, an offender is required to work an eight-hour shift at least once a week until their sentence is complete.
``These hours of free labour have a positive impact to the completion or undertaking of valuable projects in the community,'' Mr Clark said.
``It also means that money that would have been spent on these projects can be directed to address other worthwhile community needs.
``Corrections are often told of projects that would have struggled to get under way or to be completed if it hadn't been for the support from Corrections and the offenders they manage.''
One offender, who wished only to be identified as Dean, said he completed his sentence of 125 hours for drink-driving this week.
``There's only one option left [apart from community work] and that's jail,'' he said.
``I would rather come to PD than go to jail.''
He worked during the week, but was philosophical about finding the time to complete his sentence.
``I broke the law,'' he said.
``I make it fit in. I have to.
``The fact that I did what I did - broke the law - means I have got to work around everything else,'' he said.
He praised the system - under which he worked on the landscaping and buildings of various organisations around the city - and those who managed it.
``I reckon it's a good system we've got for the simple fact that there are opportunities here to better yourself if you want to take them,'' he said.
``But you can only do that if you are willing to help yourself.
``Training courses, counselling, those kind of options are available but you have to be willing to help yourself.''
The experience had given him time to reflect on why he was there in the first place.
``I wouldn't do it again,'' he said.
``I learnt a big lesson off that. They took all my licences off me and it shut a lot of doors for me for work.''
His thoughts were echoed by another offender, Marie, who said she had enjoyed the positivity of community work and the opportunity to give back.
``We have been doing a whole lot of things for different places like Women's Refuge, Alzheimers [Otago], schools and preschools,'' she said.
``It's been really, really good knowing we can do something and other people can enjoy it. Being part of something and giving something. It's more meaningful.''
She was well through her sentence of 200 hours for drink-driving, and said she would not be back before Corrections despite the positive experience.
Otago district community corrections manager Raymond Clark said offenders in Dunedin had contributed to a wide range of community projects.
``Otago has over 50 agencies and sponsors who benefit from engaging community workers,'' he said.
``The work typically includes activities like beautification of council property, planting, growing vegetables for foodbanks and building outdoor furniture and raised gardens.''
Senior community work supervisor Paul McCaffrey said Corrections and offenders were particularly proud of the work completed on bike tracks around Dunedin in conjunction with Mountain Biking Otago.
``Corrections has been supporting this project with offender labour for 10 years with thousands of hours of offender labour,'' he said.
``The result of this is a network of world-class biking and walking tracks.''
The project began in 2006 when Mountain Biking Otago started work on a shared-use trail from Leith Valley up to Swampy Ridge.
Dense native bush and steep terrain made for slow going in hand digging the track and in 2007 the club asked Corrections for assistance.
Over the next two years, a community work crew made a weekly trip to Nicols Creek, each time walking a little further up the hill to where they left off the week before.
Since then, the community work crew has helped to build and maintain several other tracks around Dunedin, clocking up more than 12,000 hours on site.
Mountain Biking Otago member Hamish Seaton said the tracks, which were an asset to the city, would not have been possible without the work of offenders.
``This has been a hugely productive partnership,'' he said.
``It enables the club to build trails that would have cost over half a million dollars if built commercially. These trails are free for the public to use and now attract thousands of riders, walkers and runners each week.''
Mr Clark said about half of the offenders were unemployed and community work taught them new skills and work habits which helped with future employment.
``Community work also helps teach important life skills for employment and engagement in the community, like getting up in the morning, working hard and the gratification that comes from a job well done,'' he said.
``These are the immeasurable benefits of a sentence like this.''
Nationally, 21,755 people served 24,548 community work sentences last year, completing more than 1.8 million hours of manual work in the community.
