Seven Foreign Criminals Who Should Be Deported Released from Prison onto Britain’s Streets Every Day
Claudia Aoraha, The Sun, November 30, 2020
SEVEN foreign criminals who should be deported are released from prison every day on to Britain’s streets, it has been revealed.
New figures show a total of 2,552 criminals were freed from jail and discharged into the community in the past 12 months alone.
According to Home Office data, there is now a record number of 9,987 foreign national offenders living in Britain – which is a 150 per cent increase from the number in 2012.
More than 2,600 foreign criminals have been living in the community for more than five years after completing their sentences.
And the number of criminals who have been on the streets for 12 months or more stands at 3,400.
Any foreign criminal sentenced to more than 12 months in prison is liable for automatic deportation, according to current rules.
This comes as more than 80 black British actors and celebrities, including supermodel Naomi Campbell, have signed letters urging airlines not to deport 30 Jamaican criminals.
Among the former inmates are murderers, rapists and paedophiles – who Home Secretary Priti Patel is set to deport on a charter flight on Wednesday.
WALKING FREE
But the coronavirus pandemic has not helped the current situation.
A record 846 criminals were freed between April and June, and hundreds won their freedom because international flights were grounded.
They applied for bail under laws which said they can only be kept in immigration detention if there is a “realistic prospect of imminent removal”.
Therefore, instead of being locked up, they were released to be “managed in the community”.
Earlier this month, 23 dangerous foreign criminals were removed from the UK after violating our laws.
Two charter flights carrying individuals convicted of rape and other sexual offences were removed by the Home Office to their home country.
Individuals with criminal records for drug production and serious violent crime were among those on the deportation flight.
Officials also returned six individuals who arrived here on illegal crossings with no legal right to remain in the UK.
Flights were arranged to return them to Sweden, Denmark, Austria and Germany.
One person was even returned to Switzerland after arriving here on a small boat after claiming asylum here just five weeks prior.
David Spencer, of the Centre for Crime Prevention think-tank, said: “It is outrageous that thousands of convicted foreign national criminals have been able to exploit the pandemic to secure their release onto our streets.”
