"What we're now finding is that some defendants are sentenced to community work and there is not suitable or appropriate community work placements in the [wider] Central Otago region, so they're coming back seeking a review of that sentence," district court judge Stephen O'Driscoll said last week.
"If there aren't sufficient [community work] placements available in Central Otago, it frustrates the sentencing process and means other sentences, not as appropriate, might have to be imposed."
He joined forces with Central Otago community probation services manager Jill Woods to make a plea for community groups, agencies and non-profit organisations who could provide community work to register with the probation service.
"I would think there's a large number of community organisations that would jump at the opportunity to have some free, voluntary work carried out for them," Judge O'Driscoll said.
Community work providers were needed in Queenstown, Wanaka, Cromwell, Alexandra, Ranfurly and Roxburgh.
Mrs Woods said there were 150 people in the wider Central Otago and Queenstown Lakes region sentenced to community work and that number fluctuated.
The "pool" of organisations prepared to offer community work was made up of 18 agencies in Alexandra and the same number in Queenstown.
A wide range of projects in the area had already benefited from work carried out by those on community work sentences. The projects included the removal of wilding pines, work on cycleways, track clearing, lakefront maintenance, pruning trees and working in community gardens.
"Agencies could be anything from kindergartens to old people's homes, charity shops, any not for-profit organisation. They don't have to employ 10 or 15 people; even if they'll take one or two, at the end of the day it means the offenders are repaying their debt to society," Mrs Woods said.
Providing the work opportunities and supervising the employee was not an onerous task. The workers did not need "constant supervision" and their employers were required to fill in a time sheet.
"We'll do everything we can to ease the burden."
Funding could be available for tools and equipment needed by the workers to complete tasks, she said.
Workers were only placed in "appropriate" situations and carefully monitored.
Judge O'Driscoll said community work was tailored to the offender's age, health and abilities.
"It's a win-win situation."
As projects were carried out, the community organisation benefited, the community as a whole benefited, and the community work gave the offender some structure to their lives and taught them skills they might not otherwise have had, he said.
The maximum community work sentence was 400 hours.
Offenders were expected to complete 100 hours within six months.
"It's taking a little longer than we'd like to place them, because there's only so much work available," Mrs Woods said.
The region was unusual in that it was one of few areas in the country without a community work centre.
In other areas, community work placements were made through such a centre.
Judge O'Driscoll said there was no "agitating" for a centre to be based in this area, because of the cost.
Mrs Woods said a centre was being considered and "may or may not happen". Even if a centre was eventually based in Alexandra or Queenstown, community work opportunities would still be needed in the other satellite areas, she said.
