Justice Minister David Hanson will defend their use when a national campaign is launched in Manchester to show they are worthwhile and effective.
He will attend a meeting on Monday where probation staff, youth workers, residents and even criminals will debate whether they work.
It is the first of a series of discussions across England and Wales in the next six months. It comes after a survey revealed only 19 per cent of people in Greater Manchester understood what community service meant compared to 25 per cent nationally, says the ministry.
The M.E.N. reported on Wednesday how a jailed, prolific Manchester burglar, speaking behind bars, branded community punishments `learning schools' for criminals.
Ahead of the Monday debate, Mr Hanson said: "Prison plays a vital role in protecting our communities by locking up dangerous, violent and persistent offenders and keeping them off our streets, but we shouldn't pretend that prisons are the solution to solve all crime."
He said that for some less serious offences `tough community-based punishments' can often be more effective than jail in cutting re-offending.
"A three-year community order with supervision and 100 hours of unpaid work is a tough sentence which places heavy demands on the offender," said the minister. "Recent statistics show the frequency of re-offending for those sentenced to community orders has fallen sharply by 13 per cent."
The debate follows the Ministry of Justice document which said people in Greater Manchester are less likely to understand community orders than the rest of the country.
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I went to one of those police/community meetings last night where I live and people were complaining to the police and housing association officers firstly about all the youths hanging about on the streets intimidating folk and getting up to no good, then secondly all the old dears were complaining that their hedges were too high and they couldn't get out to do anything in the garden because they are too old and frail.
I suppose the human rights people will show outrage if someone suggested these kids with nowt to do got into the "community spirit" and helped one of the old ladies to tidy up their gardens.
Either that or get the old ladies out there doing their own bloody gardens and put these youths to shame!
Sitting around chatting and drinking tea will only identify problems other people have already identified, it wont solve any problems, people need to get out there and have a bit of PRIDE in themselves and where they live.
grannies can wreak havoc in a supermarket with just a shopping trolley and a well aimed pink wafer. they're a menace, i tell you, a menace!
people are just lazy, that is the problem in this country. They live in their houses owned by housing trusts and expect the housing trust to send people to tidy up the crap they leave sprawled all over the place.
Get up and do it yourself otherwise your lethargic trouble causing kids will be following your lazy example!!
AH, Manchester
Im in total agreement with you we have some brand new homes where i live and the tennants have trashed the place and the gardens look like jungles.All because like you have sais they are bone idle.
Work as a punishment, it used to be part of life. as for it being unpaid, a great portion of Britain's workers slog away 40 hour weeks, to cover rent/mortgage, council tax,...endless list which eats all earned income, and debt to cover the shortage, that feels like unpaid work!, that is not for a limited amount of time but a working life's worth. These dregs should be forced off benefits into full time work along with the parents of the young layabouts. No excuse for not working, there are lots of jobs/courses.