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that convicted wrongdoers could be usefullyengaged in acts of reparation, which acts were
both useful to the community and reparative of it while simultaneously reparative of the
character of the offender (Kilcommins 2002:239).
Reparation as a penological aimenjoyedprominence in social andpolitical discourse during
the period. Cohen reports in the mid-1960s that reparation was the dominant response of
those questioned on how best to punish the criminal activities of the Mods and the
Rockers where the respondents preferred the fixing of broken windows and sweeping the
streets in the context of those particular times (Cohen 1973: 90).
In the political sphere Mr Quintin Hogg argued that reparation should be “viewed as one
of the principal motives underlying our treatment of serious offences” (Hansard, House of
Commons ParliamentaryDebates 1967: 745, 1686-1687).
As the idea of reparation enjoyed such a prominent position in the thinking of policy
makers in the 1960s and early 1970s it is not surprising that support for reparative and
community based approaches to sentencing would find positive endorsement in the
deliberations and recommendations of the Wootton Committee report in 1970. Moreover
the rapid implementation of the recommendations and in particular the recommendation
to bring forward the penalty of community service under the Criminal Justice Act of 1972
was widelyacceptedandendorsedpoliticallyandin the media.
The advancement of reparation as a rationale for the introduction of community service
must also be seen in light of the role of the voluntary movement which was extensive in
Britain in 1960s. As previously noted, the Wootton Committee critically regarded the
harnessingof this social asset in the operationalisation of the newsanction.
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