Former PSNI officer Jon Burrows has said Northern Ireland has the softest justice system in the UK.
The former police superintendant and now UUP MLA made the comments after it emerged that scores of violent offenders have been released back onto the streets after being given non-custodial sentences.
Figures released by the Department of Justice show that scores of offenders were given community-based sentences instead of prison time since 2020.
Those given community sentences committed offences including cruelty to children, domestic abuse and GBH.
The community-based sentence figures were released in response to an Assembly Question by DUP MLA Stephen Dunne.
They included a range of serious offences.
The statistics showed that 11 offenders found guilty of causing death or grievous bodily injury by careless driving were given community sentences.
The figures show that six offenders convicted of GBH received community-based sentences.
There were 35 community-based sentences handed out for indictable common assault.
There were 66 community-based sentences handed out for common assault.
Since 2020 there have been three cases of cruelty to children and three domestic abuse offences that received community sentences.
Nine offenders received community sentences for threats to kill, and three people were handed non-custodial sentences for wounding.
Meanwhile, six offenders who breached restraining orders were given non-custodial sentences.
Fifteen people were given community sentences for harassment.
Fifteen people were handed non-custodial sentences for resisting police.
There were nine cases of obstructing police where offenders avoided prison.
The statistics show that assaults on police accounted for 73 such sentences.
Mr Burrows hit out at the “leniency” in sentencing for violent offences.
“I have long been alarmed by the stark leniency in sentencing in Northern Ireland and my party colleague Doug Beattie has tirelessly raised this issue,” Mr Burrows told The Irish News.
“Too often the punishment doesn’t fit the crime and we won’t effectively tackle issues like VAWG (violence against women and girls) when we have a justice system that is not only the slowest in the UK but also the softest.
“The number of combinations orders is clearly rising according to these statistics and I fear that the backlogs in the crimal justice system and the lack of capacity in our prisons is encouraging soft non custodial sentencing.