Nearly a third of criminals caught by police in Thames Valley last year had no previous offences, new figures show.

Law reform charity JUSTICE called for better access to mental health and addiction services to “help reverse the worrying trend of increases in those entering the criminal justice system for the first time”.

Ministry of Justice figures show Thames Valley Police dealt with 3,349 first-time offenders last year. This included 428 under 18s.

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Of those, 2,415 were convicted, while the rest were only cautioned.

It meant first-time offenders accounted for 30 per cent of all criminals in Thames Valley – in line with the year before.

Figures also show that three-quarters of cautions or convictions for knife crime in Thames Valley were handed to first-time offenders.

Ministry of Justice figures show 509 first-time knife crime offenders in Thames Valley went through the criminal justice system in the year ending September 2023.

They accounted for 76 per cent of the total 673 criminals found guilty of knife and offensive weapon offences – down from 78 per cent the year before.

It comes as the Oxford Mail launched a campaign to raise awareness surrounding knife crime following a spate of incidents in the city.

Tyrone Steele, deputy legal director of JUSTICE, said: “Entering the criminal justice system is life-changing in all the wrong ways.

“Providing and strengthening real routes away from crime – from better access to mental health and addiction services, to housing and employment – would help to reverse the worrying trend of increases in those entering the criminal justice system for the first time, including children.”

Across England and Wales, around 63,700 first-time offenders were convicted in 2023, representing 22 per cent of all criminals. 

This was similar to the year before, but up significantly from 14 per cent in 2013.

A further 21,900 were handed a caution last year.

In Thames Valley, 25 per cent of those who were convicted for the first time received a community sentence, while nine per cent were sent to prison.

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Campbell Robb, chief executive of social justice charity Nacro, said: “Much of the conversation on reducing crime focuses on prison and increasing sentencing despite the evidence showing that increasing the length of a prison sentence is not an effective deterrent.

“Even a short sentence can mean people lose their jobs, homes and custody of their children, making it harder to build a crime-free life afterwards.

“And the evidence shows that short prison sentences are less effective at preventing further crime than sentences served in the community.”

In Thames Valley, first-time offenders convicted of an indictable offence were most often convicted for drug offences at 21 per cent.

In contrast, the most common offence for those with a criminal past was theft, at 26 per cent.

The Home Office and the Ministry of Justice were both approached for comment.