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Witness History: Criminals in the community

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Criminals in the community

07/08/2019 GMT

BBC World Service - Witness History, Criminals in the community

How Britain pioneered Community Service as an alternative to prison in the 1970s

In the 1970s the UK tried to reduce its growing prison population. An experimental new punishment was introduced for convicted criminals. It was called Community Service.  The scheme was soon copied around the world. Witness History speaks to John Harding, a former Chief Probation Officer, who was in charge of the introduction of Community Service in one of the first pilot schemes.

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