Surge in CPO killers sparks calls for urgent review of soft-touch justice
AN URGENT review of soft-touch sentences was demanded yesterday after it emerged one in seven murders is carried out by criminals on community service.
The Mail revealed disturbing statistics yesterday on reoffending by violent thugs and sex offenders who were given Community Payback Orders (CPOs).
The number of victims killed by criminals who had been handed soft-touch punishments or let out of jail early has tripled in the last year.
Scores were either killed, attacked, sexually assaulted or robbed last year by people who had been out on CPOs or who were living in the community, supposedly under supervision.
Last night, Scottish Tory justice spokesman Douglas Ross said: ‘When people see such alarming statistics, it’s no wonder they lose faith in community sentencing or unduly short sentences.
‘It’s particularly upsetting for victims and families when they learn their perpetrator shouldn’t have been out on the streets to begin with.
‘As such, it would be right for the Scottish Government to look at the role of community sentences, and in which instances they’re simply not appropriate.’
Soft-touch policies such as community service and electronic tagging – which is set to be massively expanded – have slashed the prison population.
The number of people receiving CPOs rose from 461 in 2010-11, when they were introduced, to 16,742 in 2015-16.
Nineteen per cent of all convictions in 2015-16 resulted in community sentences, such as CPOs or tagging, a rise from 12 per cent in 2006-07.
A Scottish Government spokesman said: ‘The Scottish Government has already undertaken a comprehensive review into CPOs and the evidence shows that, while prison is the right place for serious and high-risk offenders, CPOs are more effective in reducing re-offending than short prison sentences.
He added: ‘People on CPOs are subject to robust and ongoing management in the community and we have provided the courts with a range of sanctions for cases of breach.’