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12/05/2014
Thousands Of Serial Criminals Avoid Prison
Research from the Centre for Crime Prevention revealed a number of serious and repeat offenders’ prison sentences are being suspended by the courts.
Suspended sentences are handed out for tens of thousands of violent, property and sexual offences each year, ranging from spitting at people to manslaughter. They include throwing fireworks into a crowd, theft, molesting children, assault, taking a bomb into a hotel running a brothel, benefit fraud, burglary, faking one's death, strangling a cat and sex with a dog. One judge claims they are being used "A bit like confetti".
11,670 serious offenders had their prison sentence suspended in 2012/13 despite more than 10 previous convictions or cautions. 9,052 serious offenders had their prison sentence suspended in 2012/13 despite 15 or more previous conviction or cautions.
They are also failing to stop reoffending. Data from Freedom of Information requests reveals there were 110,745 cases of criminals sentenced last year despite one or more previous suspended sentences. There were 215 examples of criminals being found guilty despite 10 or more suspended sentences.
Almost one in three (31%) prison sentences were suspended in 2012 – up from 2% a decade ago.
Peter Cuthbertson, author of the report and Director of the Centre for Crime Prevention, said: "Thugs and sex offenders who think they are finally going to prison are overjoyed when find out that the prison sentence has been suspended. It makes a mockery of justice for victims and puts the public at great risk. These figures show that criminals given suspended sentences go on to commit hundreds of thousands of crimes. Suspended sentences should be abolished."
(CVS/CD)
Suspended sentences are handed out for tens of thousands of violent, property and sexual offences each year, ranging from spitting at people to manslaughter. They include throwing fireworks into a crowd, theft, molesting children, assault, taking a bomb into a hotel running a brothel, benefit fraud, burglary, faking one's death, strangling a cat and sex with a dog. One judge claims they are being used "A bit like confetti".
11,670 serious offenders had their prison sentence suspended in 2012/13 despite more than 10 previous convictions or cautions. 9,052 serious offenders had their prison sentence suspended in 2012/13 despite 15 or more previous conviction or cautions.
They are also failing to stop reoffending. Data from Freedom of Information requests reveals there were 110,745 cases of criminals sentenced last year despite one or more previous suspended sentences. There were 215 examples of criminals being found guilty despite 10 or more suspended sentences.
Almost one in three (31%) prison sentences were suspended in 2012 – up from 2% a decade ago.
Peter Cuthbertson, author of the report and Director of the Centre for Crime Prevention, said: "Thugs and sex offenders who think they are finally going to prison are overjoyed when find out that the prison sentence has been suspended. It makes a mockery of justice for victims and puts the public at great risk. These figures show that criminals given suspended sentences go on to commit hundreds of thousands of crimes. Suspended sentences should be abolished."
(CVS/CD)
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