Thousands of criminals are walking free from Crown Court with suspended sentences – even when they have more than 70 previous convictions, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.
Police data shows offenders were released from custody after guilty verdicts despite having records as long as their arms for previous serious offences, including violent crimes.
Figures show 755 criminals convicted in Crown Court in England and Wales with more than 76 previous convictions escaped prison and left the dock with a suspended sentence.
Another 1,011 criminals with 61 to 75 previous convictions walked free, along with 2,280 guilty defendants with between 46 and 60 convictions.
The figures also show that 3,015 criminals had 36 to 45 previous convictions, with 5,361 having 26 to 35 and 10,012 with 15 to 25.
The findings are from the Police National Computer (PNC) database and relate to 2024, the last full year for which figures are available.
The data emerged from a written parliamentary question on January 28 by Tory MP Neil O’Brien to Justice Secretary David Lammy.
Mr O’Brien asked how many convicted offenders did not receive a custodial sentence, and how many previous convictions they had.
Police data shows offenders were released from custody after guilty verdicts despite having records as long as their arms for previous serious offences, including violent crimes. The data emerged from a written parliamentary question on January 28 by Tory MP Neil O’Brien to Justice Secretary David Lammy (pictured)
Figures show 755 criminals convicted in Crown Court in England and Wales with more than 76 previous convictions escaped prison and left the dock with a suspended sentence (stock picture)
Junior justice minister Jake Richards responded by providing the data from the PNC database.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said the data showed dangerous offenders were walking free due to the Government’s controversial early release scheme.
It started in September 2024, two months after Sir Keir Starmer became PM, and has seen around 50,000 inmates released early.
Mr Philp said: ‘Under this Labour Government, dangerous criminals with previous convictions are walking free on suspended sentences due to their early release scheme.
‘The Government should be prioritising the deportation of foreign national offenders.’
The Ministry of Justice said: ‘Protecting the public is our priority, and we must ensure the worst offenders end up behind bars.
‘We’ve taken robust action to fix the system we inherited.
‘That includes the largest prison-building programme in over a century backed by up to £7 billion of investment.’
A government source added: ‘All the offenders captured in this data were either sentenced under the previous government or using rules set by the previous government.’