This programme offers diverted or sentenced offenders the opportunity of serving the community they have wronged by performing a set number of hours of community service rather than appearing in court or, if convicted, serving a prison sentence. The aim is to provide a platform through which people can give back to society while learning new skills.

CSL targets adolescents aged 15 to 17 years and adult offenders with a low to medium risk offending profile.

A NICRO social worker, in consultation with the public prosecutor, determines the requisite number of hours. Depending on the offence, circumstances surrounding the offence and the offender’s current situation between 20 and 300 hours can be allocated for community service. Community service learning can be directed towards the community as a whole or a specific group within the community, such as the aged, at-risk youth or the handicapped.

Compliance is strictly monitored.

Participation in this programme empowers participants to develop

• A personal stake in the well-being of their communities
• Competencies and skills such as relationship building, personal growth and development and essential cognitive (thinking) skills
• Instils a sense of the participant’s own value within a community
• Fosters empathy and motivates the individual to become a proud, caring member of the community who helps to identify and create solutions to community social problems
• Community service also addresses real needs in communities