More than a quarter of criminals caught by police in Devon and Cornwall last year had no previous offences, new figures show.

Law reform charity JUSTICE called for better access to mental health and addiction services to “help reverse the worrying trend of increases in those entering the criminal justice system for the first time”.

Ministry of Justice figures show Devon and Cornwall Police dealt with 2,081 first-time offenders last year. This included 250 under 18-s.

Of those, 1,431 were convicted, while the rest were only cautioned.

It meant first-time offenders accounted for 27% of all criminals in Devon and Cornwall – slightly up from 26% the year before..

In Devon and Cornwall, 20% of those who were convicted for the first time received a community sentence, while 5% were sent to prison.

In Devon and Cornwall, first-time offenders convicted of an indictable offence were most often convicted for violence against the person – 23%. In contrast, the most common offence for those with a criminal past was theft, at 29%.