Criminals learn carpentry as they pay their dues

Criminals have been carving out alternative careers for themselves by making benches, wendy houses and even lovespoons. Echo reporter HELEN TURNER visits a Wales Probation Trust carpentry workshop in Cardiff to find out more

LOVESPOONS, rocking horses and playhouses items you might expect to be hand-crafted by rustic craftspeople continuing a long-held family tradition.

But a visit to a Wales Probation Trust carpentry workshop in Cardiff has revealed the makers are often convicted criminals carrying out their community sentences.

Drama props, climbing frames and wendy houses are just some of the facilities which can be made according to the demand and specification of a school, nursery, community project or faith group.

Because the work is unpaid and often uses recycled timber, costs are kept to a minimum, allowing offenders to repay the community for their crimes.

For a decade the workshop in Lewis Street, Riverside, has been giving offenders the opportunity to learn skills and simultaneously acquire Open College Network (OCN) certificates taught across the UK, from painting and decorating to lovespoon making.

Around 2,500 offenders annually attend the workshop, which is unique in Wales for its strong manufacturing basis, and is in partnership with YMCA Community College.

Steve Powell, workshop supervisor, said: For some offenders this is the first formal qualification they have ever got.

If they come out of school and have had nothing, these are seen as the route back to education.

Vulnerable offenders or those with childcare responsibilities may be selected for the workshop, instead of doing community service outdoors and among the public.



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