UK: 60% of Offenders on Short Prison Terms will Return to Crime

Daily Express
November 12, 2013

Belmarsh High Security Prison in London
Belmarsh High Security Prison in London
Shocking figures from the Ministry of Justice show how the penal system is allowing petty offenders to become major criminals by failing to supervise them after they leave jail.

In the past decade a staggering 35,835 convicts went on to commit ­serious offences after less than a year in jail, costing the economy £10billion a year, Home Office figures show.

Each year more than 60,000 criminals are given sentences of less than a year for theft and violence ­offences. On average, they will have committed 16 crimes before going to jail.

Justice Secretary Chris Grayling said: “We currently have a situation where thousands of crimes are being committed by offenders who have ­already broken the law. Unsupervised, some of them are going on to commit some of the most horrible crimes.

“We have to stop this depressing merry-go-round of crime, offending and re-offending.”

A National Audit Office report has criticised the justice system for wasting money on short sentences.

It says they cost taxpayers £300million a year but do not give “value for money” or reduce crime.

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