More than one in three knife crime repeat offenders in Hampshire is not jailed, claims Labour Party

Analysis by the Labour Party has shown that 37 per cent of repeat offenders in Hampshire were not sent down – contravening the ‘two strikes and you’re out’ policy introduced in 2015.

Labour has now accused the government of being ‘soft on crime’ and says that the policy – under which repeat offenders would face a minimum six-month prison sentence for carrying a knife – was ’in tatters’.

It comes as over the weekend multiple stabbings were reported in London.

Labour said national figures revealed that 44 per cent of serial offenders avoided jail last year, with a rise in suspended sentences.

It said the number of criminals committing repeat offences rose from 12 per cent to 18 per cent between June 2011 and last year.

Labour’s shadow justice secretary Steve Reed said: ‘This data proves that bungling Dominic Raab and this law-breaking Conservative government are simply soft on crime.

‘Time and again, the Conservatives have broken their promises to tackle knife crime and, to top it all, their record-breaking Crown Court backlog will see even more knife criminals let off and more victims let down.

‘Labour will put security at the heart of its contract with the British people: we’ll create new police hubs and neighbourhood prevention teams to make your area safe again.’

Some 16 areas saw more than a third of repeat offenders avoid jail including Gloucestershire (41 per cent), Sussex (41 per cent), Dorset (38 per cent), Devon and Cornwall (38 per cent), Surrey (37 per cent), Hampshire (37 per cent), Leicestershire (37 per cent), Hertfordshire (36 per cent), Northumbria (36 per cent), Kent (36 per cent), Lincolnshire (36 per cent), Gwent (35 per cent), London (35 per cent), Northamptonshire (34 per cent), Thames Valley (34 per cent) and Norfolk (34 per cent).

A government spokesperson said: ‘While judges decide sentences, those caught carrying a knife are more likely to be sent to jail than they were a decade ago and new laws will see more repeat offenders face time behind bars.’