By . Matt Chorley, Mailonline Political Editor . PUBLISHED: . 13:35 EST, 7 January 2014 . | . UPDATED: . 07:24 EST, 8 January 2014 . Hundreds of convicted rapists, kidnappers, sex attackers and arsonists have escaped jail sentences, despite government pledges to end ‘soft’ sentences. Of almost 200,000 convictions for serious offences, just 52,000 were jailed and of those only 6,715 were sentenced to more than four years behind bars. Half of arsonists, burglars, sex attackers and people convicted of conspiracy to murder, child abduction and sex with under-13s avoided jail. The Ministry of Justice revealed the figures showing how for some serious offences including child abduction, conspiracy to murder and assault more than half of criminals avoided jail . Among those walking free from court in 2012 were 736 arsonists, 69 rapists, 1,177 people convicted of sex assaults, 2,745 fraudsters, 162 who killed by reckless driving and 77 kidnappers. Only 14 per cent of the 4,659 people convicted of common assault were jailed. Almost 450 were found guilty of a threat or conspiracy to murder, but only 216 were imprisoned. Just . 45 of 93 child abductors were jailed and only half of the 2,324 people . convicted of sexual assault were given jail terms, with just 262 lasting . more than four years. Almost half of sex attackers walked free from court. Only 1,177 of convictions for sexual assault led to a sentence. Labour suggested that the reluctance to send some serious offenders to jail could be linked to a desire to save money . Burglary    11,005 . Sexual assault total:    1,147    Sexual assault on a female    1,074    Sexual assault on a male    73 . Grievous bodily harm    1,853 . Rape:    69    Rape of a male    16    Rape of a female    53 . Manslaughter    13 . Attempted murder    4 . Fraud and forgery 12,515 . Theft of motor vehicle   486 . Robbery    3,335 . Theft from the person of another    3,826 . Sexual activity with child under 16    305 . Sexual activity with child under 13    107 . Child abduction    48 . Cruelty to or neglect of children    473 . Wounding or other act endangering life    144 . Causing death by aggravated vehicle taking  1 . Causing death by driving unlicensed, disqualified or uninsured drivers    9 . Causing death by careless driving when under the influence of drink or drugs    2 . Manslaughter (diminished responsibility) 7 . Causing death by reckless driving 162 . Threat or Conspiracy to Murder    233 . Perverting the Course of Justice    711 . Violent Disorder    173 . Kidnapping    77 . Blackmail    32 . Having possession of a controlled drug with intent to supply    3,507 . Possession of a controlled drug    38,675 . Criminal damage (excluding arson)    4,289 . Arson    736 . Common assault    44,532 . Dangerous driving    1,636 . Firearms offences    1,136 . Of . the 230 guilty of sexual activity with a child under the age of 13, . only 123 were imprisoned and five spent less than six months behind . bars. Only 519 of those convicted of having sex with under-16s were jailed. Labour . questioned whether the reluctance of judges to hand down custodial . sentences was fuelled by the need to save money and limit the prison . population. Fewer than a . quarter (23 per cent) of the 615 convicted of cruelty or neglect of . children and 27 per cent of people who caused death by dangerous driving . were given prison sentences. In . 2012, 1,354 people were convicted of arson, of which 618 were given . immediate custodial sentences, including 135 jailed for more than four . years. The coalition has repeatedly claimed to be ensuring tougher sentences are handed down to criminals. In . October Justice Secretary Chris Grayling said: 'This government is on . the side of people who play by the rules and want to get on. We need to . teach criminals a lesson; you will be punished for your crime.' Tonight Sadiq Khan, Labour’s shadow justice, . told MailOnline: ‘The British public will rightly question why some . people found guilty of very serious and violent crimes are avoiding . going to prison. ‘Victims of crime need confidence that those guilty of these serious crimes are properly punished. ‘There is a concern that one of the reasons for so many non-custodial sentences for serious offences is to save money. ‘For . many of the most heinous offences going to prison is the only . appropriate option to both punish and rehabilitate. This government . needs to get a grip on this, and ensure that dangerous and violent . crimes are properly dealt with.’ And Priti Patel, Tory MP for Witham, said: ‘Once again we see . the criminal justice system letting down victims of serious crimes because the . courts are too soft on paedophiles and other horrendous criminals. ‘The nature of these crimes dictates that the number one . priority is the victims of appalling crimes and keeping them safe. We need . strong deterrents and that means tougher sentences.’ Douglas Carswell , Tory MP for Clacton, said: ‘The criminal . justice system is run for the convenience of bureaucrats – not in the interests . of justice. ‘If we had a proper Conservative administration we could be . tackling the problem the way Michael Howard tackled soggy thinking at the heart . of government two decades ago. ‘Unfortunately we’ve got a quad at the heart of this . government who seem to veto anything that looks like proper Conservative . policy.’ Latest figures for the last week of 2013 show all but 1,561 of the 85,953 prison places were filled, with many jails are breaking point. Of the 39,836 convicted of possession of . drugs, only 1,161 or three per cent were sent to prison, along with only . 3,344 of 6,851 convicted drug dealers jailed. A third of the 534 convicted of violent disorder avoided jail, along with a quarter of the 335 kidnappers convicted in the courts. Even among those who are jailed, thousands are given sentences of less than six months . While the majority of convicted rapists were jailed, 69 of the 1,145 convicted kept their freedom along with 13 of the 166 convicted of manslaughter. Even among those who are jailed, many are given soft . sentences of less than six months, including 2,629 burglars, 1,057 fraudsters, . 6,838 convicted of assault and 76 robbers. The figures were released by the Ministry of Justice in response to a parliamentary question. Justice Secretary Mr Grayling said: 'Since 2010 those who break the law are more likely to go to prison for longer and we are continuing to overhaul sentencing to ensure that the toughest sentencing measures are available to the courts. 'I'll take no lessons on being tough on crime from a Labour party that let thousands of criminals out of prison early because they hadn't provided enough places, who let thousands  of offenders off with a slap on the wrist caution instead of proper punishment, and who, to add insult to injury, failed to get any money from prisoners' earnings for their victims. 'Under Labour's watch, reoffending rates simply remained the same, and they had no idea what they were going to do about it.  Our reforms will help criminals away from a life of crime - and help them stay away from it.'
Hundreds who kill by reckless driving or plot murder spared prison in 2012 .
Just 45 of 93 child abductors and 123 of 230 child sex attacker were jailed .
Labour claims judges avoid handing custodial sentences to save money .
By . Matt Chorley, Mailonline Political Editor . PUBLISHED: . 13:35 EST, 7 January 2014 . | . UPDATED: . 07:24 EST, 8 January 2014 . Hundreds of convicted rapists, kidnappers, sex attackers and arsonists have escaped jail sentences, despite government pledges to end ‘soft’ sentences. Of almost 200,000 convictions for serious offences, just 52,000 were jailed and of those only 6,715 were sentenced to more than four years behind bars. Half of arsonists, burglars, sex attackers and people convicted of conspiracy to murder, child abduction and sex with under-13s avoided jail. The Ministry of Justice revealed the figures showing how for some serious offences including child abduction, conspiracy to murder and assault more than half of criminals avoided jail . Among those walking free from court in 2012 were 736 arsonists, 69 rapists, 1,177 people convicted of sex assaults, 2,745 fraudsters, 162 who killed by reckless driving and 77 kidnappers. Only 14 per cent of the 4,659 people convicted of common assault were jailed. Almost 450 were found guilty of a threat or conspiracy to murder, but only 216 were imprisoned. Just . 45 of 93 child abductors were jailed and only half of the 2,324 people . convicted of sexual assault were given jail terms, with just 262 lasting . more than four years. Almost half of sex attackers walked free from court. Only 1,177 of convictions for sexual assault led to a sentence. Labour suggested that the reluctance to send some serious offenders to jail could be linked to a desire to save money . Burglary    11,005 . Sexual assault total:    1,147    Sexual assault on a female    1,074    Sexual assault on a male    73 . Grievous bodily harm    1,853 . Rape:    69    Rape of a male    16    Rape of a female    53 . Manslaughter    13 . Attempted murder    4 . Fraud and forgery 12,515 . Theft of motor vehicle   486 . Robbery    3,335 . Theft from the person of another    3,826 . Sexual activity with child under 16    305 . Sexual activity with child under 13    107 . Child abduction    48 . Cruelty to or neglect of children    473 . Wounding or other act endangering life    144 . Causing death by aggravated vehicle taking  1 . Causing death by driving unlicensed, disqualified or uninsured drivers    9 . Causing death by careless driving when under the influence of drink or drugs    2 . Manslaughter (diminished responsibility) 7 . Causing death by reckless driving 162 . Threat or Conspiracy to Murder    233 . Perverting the Course of Justice    711 . Violent Disorder 173 . Kidnapping    77 . Blackmail    32 . Having possession of a controlled drug with intent to supply    3,507 . Possession of a controlled drug    38,675 . Criminal damage (excluding arson)    4,289 . Arson    736 . Common assault    44,532 . Dangerous driving    1,636 . Firearms offences    1,136 . Of . the 230 guilty of sexual activity with a child under the age of 13, . only 123 were imprisoned and five spent less than six months behind . bars. Only 519 of those convicted of having sex with under-16s were jailed. Labour . questioned whether the reluctance of judges to hand down custodial . sentences was fuelled by the need to save money and limit the prison . population. Fewer than a . quarter (23 per cent) of the 615 convicted of cruelty or neglect of . children and 27 per cent of people who caused death by dangerous driving . were given prison sentences. In . 2012, 1,354 people were convicted of arson, of which 618 were given . immediate custodial sentences, including 135 jailed for more than four . years. The coalition has repeatedly claimed to be ensuring tougher sentences are handed down to criminals. In . October Justice Secretary Chris Grayling said: 'This government is on . the side of people who play by the rules and want to get on. We need to . teach criminals a lesson; you will be punished for your crime.' Tonight Sadiq Khan, Labour’s shadow justice, . told MailOnline: ‘The British public will rightly question why some . people found guilty of very serious and violent crimes are avoiding . going to prison. ‘Victims of crime need confidence that those guilty of these serious crimes are properly punished. ‘There is a concern that one of the reasons for so many non-custodial sentences for serious offences is to save money. ‘For . many of the most heinous offences going to prison is the only . appropriate option to both punish and rehabilitate. This government . needs to get a grip on this, and ensure that dangerous and violent . crimes are properly dealt with.’ And Priti Patel, Tory MP for Witham, said: ‘Once again we see . the criminal justice system letting down victims of serious crimes because the . courts are too soft on paedophiles and other horrendous criminals. ‘The nature of these crimes dictates that the number one . priority is the victims of appalling crimes and keeping them safe. We need . strong deterrents and that means tougher sentences.’ Douglas Carswell , Tory MP for Clacton, said: ‘The criminal . justice system is run for the convenience of bureaucrats – not in the interests . of justice. ‘If we had a proper Conservative administration we could be . tackling the problem the way Michael Howard tackled soggy thinking at the heart . of government two decades ago. ‘Unfortunately we’ve got a quad at the heart of this . government who seem to veto anything that looks like proper Conservative . policy.’ Latest figures for the last week of 2013 show all but 1,561 of the 85,953 prison places were filled, with many jails are breaking point. Of the 39,836 convicted of possession of . drugs, only 1,161 or three per cent were sent to prison, along with only . 3,344 of 6,851 convicted drug dealers jailed. A third of the 534 convicted of violent disorder avoided jail, along with a quarter of the 335 kidnappers convicted in the courts. Even among those who are jailed, thousands are given sentences of less than six months . While the majority of convicted rapists were jailed, 69 of the 1,145 convicted kept their freedom along with 13 of the 166 convicted of manslaughter. Even among those who are jailed, many are given soft . sentences of less than six months, including 2,629 burglars, 1,057 fraudsters, . 6,838 convicted of assault and 76 robbers. The figures were released by the Ministry of Justice in response to a parliamentary question. Justice Secretary Mr Grayling said: 'Since 2010 those who break the law are more likely to go to prison for longer and we are continuing to overhaul sentencing to ensure that the toughest sentencing measures are available to the courts. 'I'll take no lessons on being tough on crime from a Labour party that let thousands of criminals out of prison early because they hadn't provided enough places, who let thousands  of offenders off with a slap on the wrist caution instead of proper punishment, and who, to add insult to injury, failed to get any money from prisoners' earnings for their victims. 'Under Labour's watch, reoffending rates simply remained the same, and they had no idea what they were going to do about it.  Our reforms will help criminals away from a life of crime - and help them stay away from it.'
who killed by reckless driving and 77 kidnappers. only 216 were imprisoned. Just . 45 of 93 child desire to save money . Burglary    11,005 . jailed. Labour . questioned whether the were given prison sentences. In . 2012, 1,354 given . immediate custodial sentences, including