From the page: "Too many violent criminals are being let off with the equivalent of a "parking ticket", the Metropolitan Police Commissioner has warned. Sir Paul Stephenson said there had been an almost "uncontrollable" increase in soft penalties such as cautions and on-the-spot fines. His comments came as official figures showed a steep rise in the number of offenders issued with multiple cautions. In an interview with The Sunday Times, Sir Paul said efforts to ease pressure on the courts and prison system have led to officers being expected to hand out punishments, distracting them from their traditional policing role of preventing and detecting crime. He said: "The outcome of that has been an almost uncontrollable increase in cautions and the introduction of the fixed penalty ticket, which in the public's mind equates to a parking ticket, which should not be (the case) with theft and thuggery. "It's put the police in the correctional business, instead of what we should be in, the... - runawaymule/Chris