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ROBERT JENRICK
Labout must lock up career criminals for longer, get them off our streets and crush crime
Some criminals had 300 convictions for theft, but when sentenced received no prison time
RIGHT now it feels like we’re living through a crime wave.
People are living in fear walking down their high street or heading home late at night.
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Going to the post Christmas sales, shoppers hold their phones tight, worried they might be the latest victims of the ruthless moped gangs.
I have my own stories and I am sure you do too.
It shouldn’t be this way.
We have record numbers of police officers and the police have been mandated to go to every burglary by the previous Government.
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But it is.
Career criminals are getting away with crime on an epic scale.
Since 2007, 50,000 criminals with over 50 previous convictions have been spared jail time.
Criminals like Joseph Philips who had 300 convictions for theft, but when sentenced received no prison sentence.
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Or Owen Hill, who was convicted of assaulting a police officer, but was spared jail despite having 70 previous convictions.
These hardened criminals are being allowed to offend again and again with impunity.
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They’re ruining people’s lives.
But, here’s the thing, they a very small group.
It’s a shocking, but little-known statistic that 8 per cent of criminals commit 52 per cent of crime.
Criminals like Sonny String, dubbed London’s most notorious phone thief, who is allegedly responsible for 1 per cent of all stolen phones.
We can’t allow this to become the new normal.
It’s obvious that these individuals need to be locked up behind bars for much, much longer so we can protect the public, give communities breathing space and slash crime rates.
We believe in second chances, but not 50th or over 100 chances - that’s madness.
And to lock up these career criminals for longer we need to free up prison capacity.
But right now this Labour Government is flailing around without a clue and has even released dozens of dangerous criminals by accident.
Starmer could free up space by removing the 10,000 foreign national offenders who are clogging up our prisons and costing us thousands of pounds.
He could be forcing countries to take back their nationals by suspending visas or foreign aid for those who don’t cooperate. But he refuses.
And Labour could reduce the population in prison on remand by maximising court capacity so cases are heard more quickly.
Right now there are 4,500 court days not being used and serious cases like rapes are being pushed back into 2027.
Victims are being treated with contempt.
Common sense has gone out the window.
It’s time we restored some sanity.
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Lock up career criminals for longer, get them off our streets and crush crime.
That’s what the public want, that’s what they deserve and that’s my mission.
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