Prolific burglar avoids jail (From Watford Observer)

Prolific burglar avoids jail

11:19am Wednesday 19th December 2007

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A burglar from Watford who admitted committing more than 70 offences has avoided a jail sentence - for the time being at least.

Terence Ojuederie, 34, has been given a deferred sentence and put onto the Choices and Consequences (C2) programme at St Albans Crown Court.

The scheme aims to steer career criminals, driven to offending by an addiction, away from a life of crime.

Ojuederie was arrested in September and charged with eight offences which took place in Watford, Rickmansworth and Abbots Langley.

He was remanded in custody and asked for a further 69 to be taken into consideration by the courts.

His sentence was deferred for six months while he is on the C2 programme.

If he breaches the conditions of C2, by re-offending or taking illegal drugs, he faces being sentenced fully for all of the offences he admitted.

Detective Superintendent Jane Swinburne, a leading specialist at Hertfordshire Constabulary, said: "the object of the scheme is to turn around the lives of offenders so they are able to halt their pattern of offending and inflicting misery on the people of Hertfordshire."

Candidates must actively participate in the programme attending regular drug tests and interim court hearings.

If C2 is successfully completed a judge can consider giving a non-custodial sentence which would include supervision for up to three years.

Chief Constable Frank Whiteley, chair of the Hertfordshire Criminal Justice Board, said: "Whilst Hertfordshire is one of the safest counties in the country, we cannot be complacent. By targeting offenders who have the biggest criminal impact in hertfordshire we hope to make it even safer."

The Choices and Consequences programme is in conjunction with Hertfordshire Constabulary, Hertfordshire Probation, the Drug Intervention programme, the Regional Offender Management service, Hertfordshire County Council's Crime and Drug Strategy Unit, Herts in Trust, the Crown Prosecution Service, the Regional Offender Learning & Skills Centre, Turning Point and Hertfordshire Primary Care Trust.

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