New figures have shown that shoplifters are more likely to be jailed than sex offenders in Scotland.

Research conducted by Professor Alex Spencer, former head of rehabilitation at the Scottish Prison Service, shows that while 29% of shoplifters were sent to prison only 27% of people charged with indecency were jailed.

Of the 837 crimes of indecency, including rape and indecent assault in 2005/2006, 27% of offenders were imprisoned, 30% received community service and a quarter escaped with a fine.

Of the 7,928 shoplifting crimes in the same period, 29% of offenders were jailed, 19 were given community service and 35% were fined.

Speaking in The Herald newspaper, Mr Spencer said of his findings: “This seems completely ridiculous. To lock up more shoplifters than sex offenders is all the wrong way around. Locking people up does not solve crime.

“What we need to do is cut the prison population and invest more in education and literacy rather than locking people up for short sentences that do nothing to address their behaviour.

“Judges get frustrated with repeat offenders and the shoplifters may have been given very short sentences, but that is part of the problem, clogging up the system. Some 8,603 people were sent to prison last year for six months or less and this is just a huge waste of time and money.”