Public divided on jailing burglars

The British public are split on whether first-time burglars should go to jail, a survey reveals.

The poll found 45 per cent of Britons thought first-time burglars should be imprisoned, and 45 per cent thought they should receive community sentences.

It comes after the Lord Chief Justice, Lord Woolf, said the average non-violent, non-professional first-time burglar should not normally be jailed.

MORI Social Research Institute interviewed 955 adults and found that, in the South of England, just over a third of people (36 per cent) opted for jail, compared with 48 per cent in the Midlands and 52 per cent in the North.

Men felt more strongly in favour in prison than women (49 per cent compared with 41 per cent).