MP urges NOMS to break the cycle of reoffending  

• Offenders on a short prison sentence have an average of 16 previous convictions • 60 per cent of prisoners on short sentences will be back in prison within 12 months of their release. Commenting on the publication of the National Audit Office's report on the management of offenders on short sentences, South Norfolk MP Richard Bacon, a member of the Commons public accounts committee, said: “It is a truly depressing statistic that most short-sentenced prisoners are career criminals with an average of 16 previous convictions behind them, more than any other type of offender. Most short-sentenced prisoners are jailed for theft or violent crime. “The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) only has a short time to try and turn these offenders around but they are failing to use the time they have adequately. Only a fraction of prison budgets is spent on reducing...