Police anger at 'no jail for burglars' plan

The Lord Chief Justice's recommendation that the average domestic burglar should not be sent to prison was met with concern yesterday by senior police officials and politicians who believe the advice may lead to more break-ins in the run-up to Christmas.

Lord Woolf has told judges to give community service penalties to burglars who currently receive sentences of up to 18 months – in an attempt to ease overcrowded prisons.

But Sir David Phillips, the president of the Association of Chief Police Officers, said Lord Woolf's new guidelines would cause unease for householders and undermine police morale.

He said: "For those who live alone and those who have been burgled before, the announcement that prison is no longer to be an automatic deterrent for burglary will come as a shock and, in some cases, strike fear.

"Sentencing must surely be about what is due and have a regard to both victims and rehabilitation. It should not be a matter of prison spaces."

Sir David's warnings were backed by Rod Dalley, a spokesman for the Police Federation. He said: "We are concerned at both the timing and message it sends to burglars who may not have yet done their Christmas shopping.

"This is another example of where the offender and not the victim is being put at the centre of the criminal justice system's concerns," he said.

Oliver Letwin, the shadow home secretary also condemned the guidelines. Community service, which he described as "'wandering around adventure playgrounds picking up pieces of litter every so often"', was an inappropriate remedy to tackle the problem of overcrowding, he said.

Probation Service representatives believe the plan will overload the crisis–hit community service system. Harry Fletcher, the assistant general secretary of the probation unit Napo, said the Probation Service would be unable to cope.

The guidelines say a custodial sentence should only be issued "if, and only if, the court is satisfied the offender has demonstrated by his or her behaviour punishment in the community is not practicable."

Juliet Lyon, director of the Prison Reform Trust, said: "Now we can begin to use more effective community sentences for those serious and violent offenders who need to be there."