The Community Payback Scheme was launched in Pembrokeshire last week by the Dyfed-Powys Probation Area.
The launch hailed the start of the scheme which will let the people of Pembrokeshire choose the unpaid work done by offenders serving a community order or suspended sentence order.
The event was held at Scolton Manor near Haverfordwest where offenders are currently working. It was attended by Alan Buckfield, Mayor of Haverfordwest, Clr. Peter Stock, Pembrokeshire County Council, Marilyn Mason, member of the probation board, Fiona Walden from Pembrokeshire Association of Voluntary Services, representatives of the horticultural society, David Williams, Scolton Manor Park warden, as well as members of the community work team.
Jeremy Corbett, assistant chief officer of Dyfed- Powys Probation, said: "We are delighted to be launching Community Payback. Community Payback will give local people the chance to help choose the projects carried out by offenders serving a sentence in their community.
"Unpaid Work is designed to combine punishment for the offender through hard work with the learning of new skills. The work that is done should benefit the local community by carrying out work which would otherwise not be done." Gerald White, chairperson of the Pembrokeshire Horticultural Society which works in association with Scolton Manor, said: "At Scolton Manor, we work closely with offenders, really teaching them how to plant, clear, use equipment etc and we provide them with a certificate at the end of the work.
"We do not see offenders as merely labourers, they are fully integrated with the other volunteers and attend a weekly Garden Club."