More people are to be given community service rather than being sent to prison under radical new proposals aimed at transforming the criminal justice system and easing pressure on jails.
Under new legislation, to be announced this autumn, the three different types of community sentence are to be rolled up into one single alternative to custody.
Alongside the usual unpaid work, the new community service order will contain some 15% of skills-based training such as literacy or employability.
It will be made far more visible in the community with billboards publicising that work has been done by offenders on community service. The aim will be to ensure that offenders provide reparation and "positive payback to the community they have damaged".
The move comes as ministers face the crisis of jail overcrowding.
Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill revealed he is to bring forward a number of measures to ease the pressure on the prisons. He has pushed through plans to extend early release under home detention curfews. In line with the measures, The Herald revealed that the law to end automatic early release faces indefinite delay.
A Scottish Government spokesman said: "Legislation is to come on a new revamped Community Service Order (CSO) in a future Criminal Justice Bill. But we are not just waiting for that - we are pushing ahead with work involving those in the field to see how we can speed up the delivery and completion of CSOs as they stand. New guidance is expected this summer."
Last year almost 6000 offenders were given CSOs as compared to 16,000 given custodial sentences.
There are three different types of community penalty but in future there will be just one - reparative community penalty, and residents will be consulted about what types of work they want the offenders to carry out. This order will be made available to district and sheriff courts.
"We want to look at how we can advertise the work done by community service with billboards," said Jane Martin, service manager at Dundee city council. "Community service is not a soft option."
Official figures show that some 64% of people sent to prison will reoffend within two years of their release as compared to only 39% of those given community service.
Mr MacAskill said: "As well as benefiting the community, effective community penalties can help an offender address underlying problems."
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