Sir Mike Penning, a former Conservative policing and justice minister, accused judges of letting down victims. “It is appalling for victims,” he said. “Victims need to know the full force of the law will be used when culprits are found guilty.

“It is appalling for the police as well. They are doing their job, getting these people into court and the judiciary is not doing what Parliament intended them to do.

“Judges and magistrates need to know that Parliament passed the law for a reason. That is to protect victims and for victims to know that they are being listened to. Surely it’s the duty of the courts to recognise that.”

The MoJ figures show 59 per cent of repeat offenders (2,277 out of 3,858) were sentenced to immediate imprisonment in the year to September 2021, down from 71 per cent or 2,468 out of 3,483 in the previous year.

A quarter of the repeat offenders (961) escaped custody by being given suspended sentences while nearly one in 10 (319) were given community sentences. Just over 50 received a conditional discharge or a fine.

Overall, the proportion of offenders receiving immediate custody fell from 36 per cent in the year ending September 2020 to 28 per cent in the year ending September 2021.

MoJ statisticians said this could be attributed to more serious knife crime offences being prioritised by police and prosecutors at the start of the pandemic, with more “lower level” criminals dealt with in the year to September 2021.

Officials say offenders may be let off for pleading guilty and in circumstances where there may not have been a threat of violence and custody was not justified.

‘They are letting violent criminals off’

Last year also saw a 10 per cent rise in the number of knife crime offenders brought before the courts, with an increase from around 18,500 to 20,202.

It partly reflected a fall in knife crime during the pandemic with overall numbers coming before the courts for weapons offences still 10 per below pre-pandemic levels.

There was also a continuing decline in the proportion of first-time offenders, from 77 per cent in the year ending September 2011 to 72 per cent last year.

The average length of jail sentences also fell from 7.8 to 7.6 months in the past two years, driven largely by a fall in prison terms for possession of a knife from 8.1 to 7.1 months.

Steve Reed, shadow justice secretary, said: “The Conservatives have already broken their promise to lock up repeat knife offenders – this is yet more evidence that they are letting violent criminals off and letting victims down.”

A government spokesman said: “Those caught carrying a knife are more likely to be sent to jail, and for longer, than they were a decade ago.

“The 20,000 extra police officers we are recruiting will help to bring more criminals before the courts and our sentencing reforms will ensure the most serious and violent offenders spend longer behind bars.”