Criminals spared jail even after burgling f ive homes

THOUSANDS of burglars who have committed five or more break- ins have avoided jail, according to figures revealing the soft justice in courts.

Last year, 3,353 such offenders stayed free, despite a ‘three strikes and you’re out’ rule supposedly guaranteeing jail for repeat burglars.

One criminal had committed at least 26 burglaries and was still not locked up, according to Ministry of Justice figures for England and Wales.

The news comes as new Home Secretary Priti Patel yesterday vowed to make criminals ‘terrified’ of justice.

More than 31,000 burglars avoided detention at Her Majesty’s pleasure last year and figures also reveal that a burglar has an average 12 previous convictions for any offences before being jailed, up from eight in 2007.

One serial thief was spared jail on his third burglary charge, despite 133 previous convictions. He was let off after the Crown Prosecution Service decided they wouldn’t prosecute him a third time for domestic burglary – because his break-in was at a care home and not a residential home.

Judge Simon Batiste QC told Newcastle Crown Court in October: ‘I find it a remarkable decision bearing in mind he is a third-strike burglar.’

William Napier was caught dragging a duvet containing a TV through the premises – part of a late-night heist at a home for vulnerable elderly people in Byker, Newcastle.

In another shocking case, a burglar was spared jail after looting ten houses, including that of his grandparents.

George Mullard, 22, was given a suspended sentence for burglary in July, despite raiding his grandmother’s home in Swindon and stealing a set of

‘They should get the time in prison they deserve’

diamond stud earrings worth £4,000, a £ 300 silver chain necklace and an Apple watch. The startling new figures show that offenders are allowed to walk away without prison time for a litany of crimes including assault, battery, possession of a knife, possession of drugs and theft.

Despite Ministers vowing to crack down on knife crime, 20,080 prolific offenders who carry knives were let off jail last year.

More than 244,000 people convicted of drug offences in 2018 didn’t go to prison and 27 per cent of those had been caught multiple times.

A report last month warned that criminals with dozens of repeat convictions are still avoiding jail. It revealed that nearly 4,000 offenders had more than 50 previous convictions. Some people were even convicted of possession of a bladed weapon up to 18 times without being jailed – even though the law says if someone is caught for a second time they should automatically go behind bars for six months.

Neil O’Brien MP, who wrote the report and was this week appointed parliamentary private secretary to new Justice Secretary Robert Buckland, said: ‘Super-prolific criminals should start getting the time in prison that they deserve.

‘We need a review of sentencing policy regarding prolific criminals to jail more of them and for longer.

‘ We also need to invest in more prison capacity.’