Violent thugs and drug dealers ‘let off with slap on the wrist’

VIOLENT criminals and drug pushers are routinely being let off with ‘a slap on the wrist’ by the courts, a damning report has warned.

Soft sentences handed down by judges are sending the message that ‘the consequences of drug-dealing and violence are minimal’.

The stark assessment comes from a Government-funded investigation into ‘county lines’ gang violence gripping Britain. It says that the country is plagued by a ‘new type of criminality’ that links street gangs, drug dealers and organised crime. These groups are running ‘extremely violent’ and ‘very lucrative’ businesses.

The findings have been sent to MPs by the Violence and Vulnerability Unit, which was set up to tackle ‘county lines’ gangs who send youngsters to sell drugs in provincial towns.

The report says: ‘Regular offenders are not being given custodial sentences, a practice exacerbated by a lack of consistency in knife crime sentencing.

This sends a message to young people that the consequences of drug dealing and violence are minimal. When young people go through the justice system they only receive a slap on the wrist.’

A snapshot of court cases over the past year revealed at least 15 examples of judges giving suspended sentences to youngsters convicted of possession with intent to supply, punishable by up to seven years in jail.

The report found in some areas, gang bosses are turning to middle-class children to sell drugs for them. The children are also being sold the addictive antianxiety drug Xanax to ‘calm their nerves’ before school exams.

It came as official figures showed fewer than half of cars stolen in Britain over the past decade have been recovered by police. A survey of 25 police forces found 522,214 vehicles were logged as stolen – a six-year high – but just 236,636 were found, 45 per cent of the total.

The government today launches a new unit aimed at curbing fraud, bribery and money laundering, which costs at least £14.4billion a year, says the Home Office.