The head of Kent Police has claimed serious criminals are avoiding jail or being released too early because of a lack of prison places in the country.

In a national newspaper, Ch Con Mike Fuller criticised the Government for the overcrowding crisis in prisons – believing the problem was entirely foreseeable.

In today’s Guardian article, Mr Fuller blamed the sentencing policy which was determined more by the number of prison places rather than the seriousness of the crimes people commit.

He said: “That means recidivist offenders are being released from prison when they should not be.”

Chris Bath, director of projects at UNLOCK, a charity that helps rehabilitate offenders, agreed with Mr Fuller on the current sentencing pressures.

He said: "Magistrates and judges will tell you that they have felt a lot of pressure in the way that they sentence because of the mistakes and lack of planning from the Government.

"But the magistrates and judges represent the people and they should be able to apply the sentences that they need to."

But Nacro, the crime reduction charity, stressed the importance of public confidence in the criminal justice system. .

Chief executive Paul Cavadino told us: "Prison sentences are needed for offenders who pose a genuine risk to public safety - but they are not the best answer for a wide range of other offenders.

"It's important to realise that effective sentences are not always the toughest. We need to increase public confidence by explaining the effectiveness of community penalties for many offenders and not by seeking tough sentences for the sake of it."

Mr Fuller also said the Government had not helped the problem of overcrowding in prisons when it told the police to increase the number of offenders brought to justice five years ago.

"Not surprisingly, over that time, there has been increased pressure on prison places. These problems could have easily been foreseen," he added.

Mr Fuller complained that forces were over-inspected; too much of his time was spent answering to 13 official national bodies.

On this Nacro's Mr Cavadino agreed and said the charity had also been critical of the Government's target for bringing offenders to justice.

He said: "It has led to offenders who have committed minor offences which would previously have been dealt with by informal warnings being prosecuted. This wastes police and court time and increases pressure on the criminal justice system.

"For example, young people are dragged before the courts for playground fights - which would be far better dealt with by non-criminal measures."

Mr Fuller is regarded as a contender to be the next commissioner of Scotland Yard to succeed Sir Ian Blair, whose term comes to an end by January 2010.