An astounding 4,600 serial criminals in Britain last year got away with
just police cautions or warnings, prompting Indian-origin MP Priti Patel
to call on law authorities to end the "nonsense".
According to
statistics from the justice ministry, one-third of all offenders in
Britain now have at least 15 previous convictions, but more of them get
lenient punishments, The Sun reported.
One-third of all those who
were fined - a total of 16,400 - were also hardcore offenders, compared
to just one in six in 2002, the data showed.
Tory MP Patel
called on Justice Secretary Chris Grayling, and said the "disturbing
figures demonstrate soft justice doesn't work".
"Offenders who commit crimes again and again get away with a slap on the wrist," she was quoted as saying.
