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“They find ways in which they attempt to neutralise or minimise the constraints and
restraints imposed upon them. They invent and develop at some point certain
idiosyncrasies – that is to say, “personality” traits – which they use to legitimately
excuse themselves fromdoingsuch work”. (Vass 1990:118).
A common thread of discontent running through many community service schemes
whatever the level of commitment or dissociation is the complaint by offenders that the
work performed is not useful or has no tangible reward either for the offender or the
community. This criticism is especially made when offenders are working in groups and
in projects not immediately recognised in their minds with community. Besides the
elements of avoidance by offenders which were observed by Vass (1984) in situ, the
primary form of dissociation or withdrawal of consent to participate in community service
is the phenomenon of absenteeism (McWilliams and Murphy1980; Young 1979; and Vass
1990). Absenteeism is the failure to attend work without a reasonable excuse. Failure to
attend for community service work without an acceptable explanation is a breach of the
community service order. Absenteeism is the ultimate dissociation by the offender from
the communityservice order.
While consent is a necessaryprecondition to the making of a communityservice order, the
maintenance of that consent on the part of the offender is required to complete the order
in its entirety. If the offender fails to attend without reasonable cause at a community
service scheme it may be inferred that the consent originally offered is either withdrawn
conditionally or absolutely. This presents a major challenge to the probation officer
supervising such a scheme. In this regardVass foundas follows:
“Absenteeism is not only an endemic feature of community service which
occasionally may run at an average rate of one quarter of all attendances per month,
but also many– as much as half – of those absences are due to reasons consideredas
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