Criminals with 50 plus convictions NOT sent to prison, figures reveal
Of those convicted in Devon and Cornwall, 26 had at least 75 previous convictions
Joel CooperChief Reporter
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More than 60 criminals with at least 50 previous convictions each avoided a jail sentence in just one year in Devon and Cornwall.
Figures from the Ministry of Justice show that 64 offenders convicted in 2016, the most recent figures available, who had 50 or more previous convictions, were given a non-custodial sentence.
Locked up in Devon in April 2018
In the figures non-custodial sentences include all outcomes except immediate custody and suspended sentences.
An officer patrols B block (Image: Teri Cox)
This was 62% of the 104 offenders convicted in 2016 who had at least 50 previous convictions.
The figures also show that of those convicted in the Devon and Cornwall police force area, 26 had at least 75 previous convictions, of which 17 were given a non-custodial sentence.
In the South West in 2016, an offender with 38 previous convictions for violence against people, and a total of 152 previous convictions, avoided jail or a suspended sentence for their latest violence against the person offence.
This is the violent past of face-tattooed criminal on the run Tony Pengelly
Also in the region, a person with 23 previous convictions for burglary, and 71 previous convictions in total, was given a non-custodial sentence for burglary, while two offenders with 16 previous convictions for drug offences were given non-custodial sentences for their most recent drug offences.
There was also a non-custodial sentence given to an offender for sexual offences other than rape, who had five previous convictions for sexual offences, as well as a non-custodial sentence for taking indecent pictures of children to an offender with two previous convictions for the crime.
The figures were revealed following a Freedom of Information Request to the Ministry of Justice, and 6,600 offenders who appeared in court in 2016 had 50 or more previous convictions, with only around half of these, 3,800, being given a custodial sentence at their court appearance.
Dartmoor Prison
Of these around 1,600 had 75 or more previous convictions, with around 960 people in this group given custodial sentences.
The sentence given to an offender will depend on the seriousness of the crime they are being sentenced for, and the relevant sentencing guidelines - in some cases a custodial sentence may not have been appropriate.
Records of offenders' previous convictions are considered as part of sentencing to look at patterns of offending, assess how dangerous an offender may be, and to look at what sentence may be most effective at reducing future offending.
The criminals sentenced at magistrates courts in Exeter, North and South Devon recently
Research by the Ministry of Justice released this week suggests that short prison sentences may not be the right approach for prolific offenders, but suspended sentences may work better.
The research found that for those with more than 50 previous offences, the odds of reoffending were 36% higher where short-term custody (less than 12 months) rather than a court order was given.
It also found, for those with more than 50 previous offences, the odds of reoffending were 9% lower where a suspended sentence order rather than a community order was given.
DevonLive has contacted the Courts and Tribunals Judiciary and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) for a comment.