4,500 serial offenders are let off with caution despite committing at least 15 crimes each

Thousands of serial offenders are being let off with a slap on the wrist – despite each committing more than 15 crimes.


Some 4,500 criminals with 15 or more convictions were given a caution last year.


Tens of thousands more were handed fines, community sentences or suspended jail terms. Overall, some two-thirds of the worst serial offenders escaped jail, Ministry of Justice statistics show.

MPs said the figures betrayed the ‘soft justice’ system and called for more public control over sentences.


Tory MP for Clacton, Douglas Carswell, said: ‘From November we get to elect our police chiefs. We now need to ensure democratic accountability over the rest of the criminal justice system.       Read Here