Sex offenders, drug traffickers and violent thugs are among 14,000 foreign criminals who have been let off without a conviction because they said sorry for their crimes.
The foreigners were among more than 412,000 offenders who escaped receiving a criminal record over the last three years because they were handed ‘community resolution orders’ instead of being charged.
The orders – which see criminals apologise for their actions – are meant for low level crimes and were introduced to allow troubled youths and first-time offenders to avoid a criminal record and get their lives back on track.
But figures obtained by the Daily Mail show that the soft-touch orders have been used to deal with serious crimes, with 2,949 sex offenders among those who did not face court because they apologised.
Two rapists were among the thousands of offenders let off, as were foreign child sex offenders.
Hundreds of drug offenders and violent criminals from overseas were also sent on their way with a slap on the wrist.
The figures further highlight the farcical state of Britain’s justice system, as Labour faces mounting pressure over prisoners mistakenly freed from jail and controversy over the government’s early release scheme.
The new data – obtained under Freedom of Information laws from 38 of the UK’s police forces – show that sex offenders from Albania, Congo, Iran, the Philippines, Hungary, Poland, Latvia, Romania, India, France, Lithuania, Pakistan, Nepal, Hong Kong, Algeria, Syria, Nigeria and Zimbabwe were all handed the orders and therefore did not face court.
The five sex offenders from Iran, Philippines, Nepal, Romania and Zimbabwe sexually assaulted teenage girls but were let off without charges, as were flashers from Syria, Algeria and Nigeria.
And a Chinese national was also let off for child cruelty.
Drug offenders from 128 different countries were handed community resolution orders, as were violent criminals from 99 nations.
The figures – and number of offenders from overseas – is likely to be far higher as some forces were unable to provide data or say where the offenders were from.
Not one of Britain’s 44 police forces kept a record of how many community resolution orders they were handing to asylum seekers.
Rapists in Derbyshire and Humberside were handed community resolution orders instead of being charged.
The case in Derbyshire involved a boy under the age of 14 raping a girl of a similar age.
In Durham, two sex attackers from the Philippines and Iran were let off with the soft-touch orders.
Across the country, 24 girls under the age of 13 and 13 pre-teen boys were sexually assaulted, only for their attackers to be let off following an apology.
At least 134 sexual assaults of girls aged 13 to 16 were dealt with using community resolution orders.
Nearly 750 people were caught with indecent photos of children but were handed the soft-touch orders, and almost 165 cases of sexual activity with children ended in the offenders being let off too.
At least 175 sexual assaults of adults ended with the attackers being let off following an apology, as well as six perverts caught with the worst form of bestiality porn.
Eighty people escaped charges for child cruelty, as did six kidnappers and people who abducted children.
Community resolution orders were introduced so victims could be involved in the justice process.
The orders are often used when shoplifters are caught in the act, or to punish youths so they do not get a criminal record.
An apology has to be accepted by the victim, and the person who receives the order may have to do some form of community service.
A Derbyshire Police spokesman said of the child rape that was dealt with using a community resolution order: ‘This case relates to a reported rape of a girl by a boy – when both were under the age of 14.
‘On completion of the investigation, a specialist multi-agency panel judged that the case was appropriate for a community resolution. This was communicated to the victim and their family.
‘A series of interventions were held with the boy which included crime, consequences and victim awareness and since the incident the boy has not been a suspect in any further incidents in Derbyshire.’
A Durham Police spokesman said: ‘Community resolution covers a number of disposal options, including Restorative Justice programmes or the victim accepting an apology.
‘Each case is looked at on an individual basis and the best interests and welfare of the victim are the centre of that.
‘Before using a community resolution, the previous behaviour of the offender, the severity of the offence, along with the wishes of the victim, must be considered to ensure we have done the right thing for the victim.’
Humberside Police declined to comment.
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Dr Alison Heydari, from the National Police Chiefs’ Council, said: ‘Out of Court Resolutions (OoCR) are a highly effective way of delivering justice, supporting community safety and preventing future offending. We know there is a lot of work for policing to do to ensure that OoCR are fully understood by the public and that policing can deliver them in an appropriate and timely way.
‘In order for OoCR to be effective, we need a whole system approach that includes our partner agencies and the voluntary sector.
‘Community resolutions, conditional cautions and deferred prosecution schemes provide policing with an opportunity to work together and help divert individuals away from criminality, as well as delivering swift justice for victims but delivery must be consistent in order to achieve the benefits we know they can provide.
‘We regularly review the use of community resolutions and over the next few months will be updating our guidance to reflect feedback received and a recent published report.’
The Home Office was contacted for comment.
The figures heap more pressure on Labour over its handling of the justice system.
Earlier this week it emerged that a criminal was on the loose for more than a week after being released from prison in error.
In the latest development in Labour’s jails farce, the Ministry of Justice confirmed the unnamed inmate was finally detained eight days after being mistakenly let out.
The case was in addition to Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy’s admission that three wrongly released prisoners were still at large.
Tory frontbencher Robert Jenrick, who has dubbed the missing prisoners ‘Lammy’s lags’, said it showed Mr Lammy was ‘asleep at the wheel’.
‘Calamity Lammy didn’t know his department had lost a prisoner for over a week,’ the Shadow Justice Secretary said.
‘He’s asleep at the wheel.
‘Since Lammy introduced his “strongest ever checks” three prisoners have been mistakenly released.
‘They’re failing and the British people are being put at risk on a nearly daily basis as a result.’
It comes after a report from the National Audit Office concluded that Labour’s plan to send fewer offenders to prison will increase pressure on the beleaguered Probation Service and could leave the public at greater risk.
Official crime figures showed a spike in offences such as shoplifting and drugs during Labour’s first year in power.
Mr Jenrick warned Labour’s plan for softer sentences would lead to a ‘massive crimewave of more sexual assaults, rapes and violent crime committed in our communities’.
