50 convictions, but no jail
REPEAT OFFENDERS WALKING FREE FROM COURTS
FANCY having a lovely run along the Newcastle Quayside and raising money for charity while you do it? If you do, you’re in luck. The Sunshine Fund are launching their annual 5K Sunshine Run as part of their Go Bananas campaign taking place this June.
The charity dedicates its time to raising funds to buy specialist equipment for local disabled children when they can’t get it any other way.
Every year they run their Go Bananas campaign with a target to raise a huge amount of money and change the lives of children in need.
This year, eight children have been selected to be the faces of the campaign but hundreds more in the North East need the help of the public to make their lives a bit easier.
There’ll be plenty of fundraising events to get involved in throughout the month and the Sunshine Run is just one of them.
The long-standing event starts off on Newcastle’s Quayside, taking runners along the Tyne, and finishing the race in Baltic Square in Gateshead after running across the Millennium Bridge.
Previous years have seen runners dressed as bananas and monkeys to fit with the Go Bananas theme and the fund are encouraging the tradition to continue.
The race is registered with Run Britain so has been known to attract club runners looking for a personal best.
The charity’s patron Paralympian Stephen Miller will once again start the race this year. Crime Reporter HUNDREDS of criminals with more than 50 convictions are walking free from North East courts.
New figures from the Ministry of Justice show that in 2016 a staggering 315 offenders in the Northumbria area with 50 convictions or more, and 87 in the Durham Constabulary area, were handed noncustodial sentences.
And among offenders aged 10 to 17 in Northumbria, 33 had already racked up 10 or more convictions. Of these, 24 were given non-custodial
He said: “I’m delighted to be starting the Sunshine Run again this year. It’s a lovely fun event set in a beautiful part of Newcastle and Gateshead.
“The Sunshine Run always contributes important funds to the charity, funds that directly help disabled children and their families in this region.
“Hopefully there will be a good turn out and everyone will have a great time raising vital money for the Sunshine Fund – It is a charity very much close to my heart, as I know how much it helps and the difference it makes to people’s lives.”
Lauren Thompson, fundraiser for the Sunshine Fund, added: “We’re so excited for our 5K Sunshine sentences when they appeared in court.
Meanwhile in Durham there were 11 offenders in this age group with this number of convictions, 10 of whom were not locked up. Run, it’s one of our favourite events of the year. We love seeing familiar faces year after year taking part, especially the teams who enter!
“We’ re also thrilled to have intu Metrocentre and intu Eldon Square sponsoring the Go Bananas appeal and Sunshine Run again. A special thanks to Gateshead Harriers and Gateshead Council who are again supporting us in organising and managing the event.“
The Sunshine Run will take place on Wednesday, June 20 at 7pm and is open to everyone over the age of 16 including individuals, club runners, fun runners and corporate teams.
To enter, please contact lauren. thompson@reachplc.com or call 0191 201 6090.
In the North East in 2016, an offender with 44 previous convictions for violence against the person, and a total of 89 previous convictions, avoided jail or a suspended sentence for their latest offence.
Also in the region, two people with 49 previous convictions for burglary, where one had 69 previous convictions in total and the other 123, were given a non-custodial sentence for burglary.
An offender with 19 previous convictions for drug offences was also given a non-custodial sentence for their most recent drug offence.
There was also a non-custodial sentence given to an offender for sexual offences other than rape, who had three previous convictions for sexual offences.
The figures were revealed following a Freedom of Information request to the MoJ.
They also show that nationally 6,600 offenders with 50 convictions of more appeared in court and only half of these were sentenced to custody.
Research by the MoJ released this week suggests that short prison sentences may not be the right approach for prolific offenders, but suspended sentences may work better.
It found for those with more than 50 previous offences, the odds of reoffending were 9% lower where a suspended sentence order rather than a community given.
A MoJ spokesman said: “Under this Government the most serious offenders are more likely to go to prison, and for longer, helping protect the public and keep communities safe.
“Overall, Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs) have reduced the number of people reoffending, and through our reforms we’re monitoring 40,000 offenders who would previously have been released with no supervision at all.
“Sentencing is a matter for the independent judiciary, who take into account the full facts of each case.” order was