Burglars who attend rehab spared prison

PROLIFIC burglars are being let off jail if they agree to four months of rehabilitation under a “deferred prosecution” scheme.

West Midlands Police is pioneering an approach where repeat burglars responsible for an average of 30 offences apiece have deferred their jail sentences of up to seven years.

Their prison term is suspended for four months if they agree to sign a behaviour and rehabilitation contract which can include drug or alcohol treatment, education and training.

Those who stick to the deal avoid jail sentences and are allowed onto community orders after four months.

Those who fail by reoffending are taken back before the courts and have their prison sentences reinstated.

Nine burglars responsible for 300 offences have already been through the scheme with the backing of their victims and agreement of their trial judges. Two have reoffended and are back in jail, one for a seven-year term.

The Metropolitan, Merseyside, West Yorkshire and Norfolk forces are understood to be planning to follow suit. It marks a significant extension of “deferred prosecution”, which was pioneered by West Midlands for lower level criminals.

Supporters claim it reduces reoffending and is not a “soft touch”, but critics fear it is a “cost-saving” measure introduced without an effective auditing of success, and could be exploited by burglars who might “play the system” by pretending to have reformed.

Sgt Sandy Thompson, the officer behind the scheme, denied it was a “get out of jail free card” and most had not committed any offences for two years, avoiding residents the “heartache” of more burglaries and saving “a lot of money” for the police, courts and prison service.