A burglar from Long Sutton in Lincolnshire has been fined instead of being sent to prison. Ben Buckley had breached a two-year suspended sentence that was imposed last year for a string of offences when he failed to attend appointments with the Probation Service on 18 June and 24 July. Buckley, aged 27, was sentenced in April 2023 for house burglary, affray, theft, making threats using an offensive weapon, and possessing a Class B drug. As part of his suspended sentence, he was required to attend probation appointments.
At Lincoln Crown Court, Buckley admitted breaching the suspended sentence and appeared before Recorder John Hardy KC. Hardy reportedly told Buckley that although he “richly” deserved to be jailed, he would instead be fined £350 for breaching his sentence due to the “unsatisfactory condition” of the prison system and because Buckley has a young child. Buckley must also pay £150 in costs.
Buckley’s defence lawyer, Rebecca Freitas, argued that he should be fined rather than sent to prison since she says Buckley was unaware of one of the appointments and was expecting a text reminder from his probation officer. Freitas also noted that since his suspended sentence was imposed, Buckley hadn’t committed any further offences and had a four-month-old child.
In the UK, the prison population has reached a record high and risen by 1,159 since August 2, with a total of 88,521 prisoners in England and Wales, according to figures from the Ministry of Justice. This comes as the government plans to launch a temporary early release scheme to help reduce pressure on the system
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