CAREER criminals made up nearly a third of serious offenders convicted in Essex last year.

Statistics also show fewer than half of crooks convicted with at least 15 previous convictions or cautions 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 Essex last year, in 1,309 of the 4,322 cases (30 per cent) 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 reveals.

That included 46 where the offender had 75 or more previous convictions or cautions.

The figures also show that of the cases where offenders had at least 15 previous convictions or cautions, 562 (43 per cent) resulted in an immediate prison sentence.

Some 72 (six per cent) resulted in no punishment and 188 (14 per cent) with a fine.

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 per cent – down from 38 per cent in 2019, but above the 32 per cent in 2010.

Reducing reoffending is one of our top priorities

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

The Labour party said the figures were "shocking" and 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 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 said Labour would "put victims first by enshrining their rights in law" and focus on criminal rehabilitation to stop the cycle of reoffending.

A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: “Reducing reoffending is one of our top priorities.

"That’s why we’re investing millions through the Beating Crime Plan to provide robust monitoring, while tackling the drivers of offending such as substance misuse, homelessness and unemployment.”