Career criminals spared jail

NEARLY 4,000 criminals with more than 50 previous convictions were spared prison last year, prompting MPS to call for tighter sentencing rules.

The number of “super-prolific offenders” who are convicted but not jailed has tripled over the past decade.

Roughly half of all crimes are committed by just 10 per cent of offenders, Ministry of Justice figures showed.

Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt are under pressure to commit to supporting tougher sentences and boosting in- vestment in prisons.

Since 2007, the number of criminals with more than 50 previous offences who were convicted but spared jail has risen from 1,299 to 3,916 last year, according to data obtained through a series of parliamentary questions by Neil O’brien, the Conservative MP.

They included violent offenders. Nearly a third of those convicted of violence against the person who had more than 25 previous convictions still avoided a jail sentence. Meanwhile, early

release of prisoners has spiked, with one in five freed without serving even half their sentence, up from 13 per cent in 2017.

Over the past 10 years, more than 200,000 offenders who had 25 previous convictions did not receive an immediate custodial sentence after being convicted. Of these, nearly 2,500 had more than 100 previous convictions.

Mr O’brien said: “Large numbers of people should not be getting let out of prison before even the halfway mark of their sentence under early release.”

He called for the next prime minister to review sentencing rules, including bringing back minimum sentences and “earned release”.

Prisons needed more investment to ensure they have the capacity to hold “super-prolific criminals” for longer, he said.

Mr O’brien’s report for the think tank Onward recommends toughening community sentences, suspended sentences and drug rehabilitation programmes.

By the time offenders receive a jail term, they have increasingly first served high numbers of suspended and community sentences. One offender who was jailed last year had previously been given 47 community sentences, according to the study.

♦ Elderly victims of crime have been let down in the quality of care by police and prosecutors in more than half of cases, two watchdogs have found.

HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and the Crown Prosecution Service said they had “grave” concerns at the failure of police to safeguard vulnerable elderly victims and provide them with the support they needed after they fell prey to crime.

Of 192 cases examined by the watchdogs, care was not good enough in 101 and police and prosecutors only complied with the Victims’ Code, which sets out the information and services to which they are entitled, in 97 of them.