SCOTTISH Borders Council is to carry out an investigation after it emerged that almost a third of Community Payback Orders have been breached.
The direct alternative to custody was introduced to Scottish courts in February 2011.
During the first full year local courts handed out 112 of the orders.
And during the same 2011/12 period there were only 15 breaches.
But since April of this year almost a third of the 99 offenders sentenced to unpaid work have breached the orders.
The local authority's Criminal Justice Team, who administer and oversee the work, are probing the reasons behind the surge.
A spokesman for Scottish Borders Council told the Peeblesshire News: "Further investigation is required to fully determine why there is an increase."
CPOs usually consist of snow clearing, repair work within parks and community buildings and building pathways.
And they replaced the previous alternatives to custody, Community Service Orders, Probation Orders and Supervised Attendance Orders.
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