CAREER criminals made up more than a third of serious offenders convicted in West Yorkshire last year, figures reveal – suggesting many are caught up in a cycle of reoffending.

The news comes as one MP in the Bradford district reiterated his support for "tougher prison sentences".

The statistics show fewer than three in five of those convicted with at least 15 previous convictions or cautions to their name were sent to prison.

The Labour party said the "shocking" national figures showed the Government was "soft on crime and its causes", putting the public at risk.

In West Yorkshire last year, in 2,734 of the 7,144 cases (38%) where an adult admitted or was found guilty of an indictable offence – such as theft, violence or rape – the offender had at least 15 previous convictions or cautions, Ministry of Justice data shows. That included 107 where the offender had 75 or more previous convictions or cautions.

The figures also showed that of the cases where offenders had at least 15 previous convictions or cautions, 1,426 (52%) resulted in an immediate prison sentence. Some 180 (7%) resulted in no punishment and 214 (8%) with a fine.

In recent months, judges at Bradford Crown Court locked up pair of 'career criminals' for four and four and a half years, respectively, for burglaries.

But both men, who were in their 40s, had long histories of reoffending. One had 30 convictions for 84 offences and the other had 36 convictions for 191 offences.

Across England and Wales, the proportion of adult offenders convicted of a serious offence with 15 or more previous convictions or cautions last year was 36% – down from 38% in 2019, but above the 32% in 2010.

Of those cases last year, 45% resulted in an immediate prison sentence.

The Labour party said the "shocking" figures were partly a result of the Government's decision to part-privatise the probation service seven years ago – a move reversed in June this year with renationalisation of the service.

Holly Lynch, Labour's shadow minister for crime reduction and courts, said: "The Government is soft on crime and its causes.

"By failing to reduce crime through rehabilitation in our prisons and our communities, the Tories are putting the public at risk."

She added that Labour would "put victims first by enshrining their rights in law" and focus on criminal rehabilitation to stop the cycle of reoffending.

Shipley MP Philip Davies said: “I will continue to argue for much tougher prison sentences and for prisoners to serve the sentences handed down by the courts in full – but I am afraid that I will continue to get no support at all from the Labour Party with that.”

“I am delighted that the Labour Party are now using the figures I have been extracting from the Ministry of Justice for years to highlight how soft sentencing has become in this country.

“Unfortunately Labour always spend their time in Parliament arguing for fewer people to be sent to prison – not more. The last Labour government also passed an idiotic law which forced all criminals to be released halfway through their sentence even if they still posed a threat to the community – forcing dangerous criminals back on to the streets to commit more crimes and to create more unnecessary victims of crime – a policy they are still wedded to.

“They are also opposing the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill which toughens up prison sentences.

“So I don’t think anyone will be fooled by Labour trying to claim they are tough on crime when everything they have done and continue to argue for is to be even softer on crime."

In its outcome delivery plan for 2021-22, the Ministry of Justice said it would stop reoffending by focusing on interventions such as providing a home, job and access to treatment of substance-misuse.

It said the reunification of the probation service meant staff had the skills to run rehabilitative programmes, preventing crime and increasing supervision of offenders outside prison.