SOCIAL work is to get extra staff to combat months of delays in West Dunbartonshire’s criminal justice system.

In recent weeks, sheriffs had held off sentencing criminals because background reports hadn’t been prepared and unpaid work in the community punishments weren’t starting for months.

Last week Sheriff Maxwell Hendry said during a case that he was aware “social work is under serious review” over the time taken to deal with court orders.

West Dunbartonshire Health and Social Care Partnership confirmed there had been a “restructure” and two new posts created. It was only an internal review, they added.

A spokeswoman said: “Following feedback, we’ve reviewed the service and are introducing additional staff to ensure resources are targeted effectively and efficiently at priorities including allocating unpaid work orders. 

“We are working in partnership with local sheriffs to ensure the changes we’ve made are having a positive impact and feedback has been encouraging with no delay in implementing any unpaid work orders imposed since January 1.”

Community payback orders have recently been made for unpaid work in the community to be completed within nine months instead of six because of delays in the work even starting.

And earlier this month, five people in one day at Dumbarton Sheriff Court were told they couldn’t be sentenced because reports weren’t available. 

Sheriff William Gallacher told one solicitor: “I think the intervention of the social work department, both in the form of supervision and unpaid work, might – might – have been a persuading factor.

“But in this jurisdiction, were I to make such an order it would not be implemented for an excessive period of time.

“My anxiety is that if I cannot impose an alternative which is meaningful and effective because of the difficulties within the social work department in managing it, am I able to impose such an order? Or do I have to send him to custody?

“I have raised publicly my anxieties about the intervention of the social work department, whose alternatives to custody are supposed to be robust, immediate and effective – and on too many occasions in this jurisdiction are none of these things.”