An offender removes graffiti from a wall next to a train line in south London, while taking part in a community payback project run by London Probation Trust
The Labour Party, whose research uncovered the data, claimed the figures meant criminals were let off from the equivalent of more than 30 years of community service in 2023 after their suspended sentences expired. According to the MoJ, suspended sentence orders cannot legally be extended beyond “the length of the operational period of the order” which is set by the judge.
This figure was higher than any other years since 2014, though a larger proportion of work in previous years was incomplete. “Victims expect sentences to be completed and community payback work to be carried out, but Rishi Sunak’s government can’t even get the basics right.