Star comment: Criminals getting off too lightly

Police are increasingly turning to cautions to deal with offenders, who might previously have found themselves before magistrates, or a judge and jury.

Last year, 1,248 violent criminals and 46 sex offenders were handed cautions by West Mercia Police. It is a state of affairs that prompts a measure of concern.

The number of cautions is at an all-time high and politicians are aghast. That is not surprising. It is deeply disturbing that sex offenders, for instance, can avoid appearances on the Sex Offenders Register by accepting what amounts to a slap on the wrist. It is equally disturbing that violent offenders can evade the short, sharp shock of a prison cell or punitive fine by making a token acceptance of responsibility and offering a promise not to be naughty again.

Cautions are issued at the discretion of the police in order to avoid matters progressing to the courts. The upward trend in their use seems to suggest that the police increasingly use them as a way of dispensing quick justice, without all of the time and hassle that court cases entail. They're a quick fix, an easy way to get cases off the books.

But cautions can also be viewed as a sticking plaster, as a way of papering over the cracks. They are not as likely to prevent further offending as a heavier penalty. They do little for either victims or, indeed, the criminals themselves. The pattern of offending is less likely to be broken when people are simply ticked off and told not to do something again. And in the most extreme cases, particularly those relating to violence or sexual offences, there is a very real risk that other members of society will later suffer.

West Mercia Police deserve to be backed by us all. Officers have an enormously complicated and difficult job to do in keeping our streets safe. It is human nature for them to work as quickly and efficiently as they can in order to keep their workload to a manageable level.

But more must be done to tighten up the system and prevent serious criminals from simply getting away with it. The system must punish, improve future behaviour and protect other members of society.