:00:09. > :00:09.Good evening. That's all from us.
:00:10. > :00:12.Nearly a third of people given prison sentences in
:00:13. > :00:15.the Thames Valley aren't actually jailed, according to new research.
:00:16. > :00:17.Figures obtained by the BBC from the Ministry of Justice show
:00:18. > :00:22.more than 1,000 people were given suspended sentences in 2012.
:00:23. > :00:25.Ten years earlier, the figure was around 40.
:00:26. > :00:31.Lee Mackie lost her son Jason when he was serving in Afghanistan.
:00:32. > :00:34.She used some of the money from his life insurance to invest
:00:35. > :00:43.Her neighbour was convicted of fraud but he never went to jail.
:00:44. > :00:50.What annoyed me was that the judge said that wasn't in his
:00:51. > :00:54.nature and therefore that is the reason he got a suspended sentence.
:00:55. > :01:00.Him getting a suspended sentence was probably what I expected.
:01:01. > :01:03.Hundreds of victims of crime, like Lee, never see the perpetrators
:01:04. > :01:12.In 2002, only 43 suspended sentences were given out in the Thames Valley
:01:13. > :01:18.By 2012, this had increased to more than 1,200.
:01:19. > :01:23.In the Thames Valley, a third of people given a prison sentence
:01:24. > :01:31.Compared to the rest of the country, the Thames Valley ranks eighth
:01:32. > :01:35.for the most suspended sentences given out to criminals.
:01:36. > :01:38.Some say avoiding jail means avoiding punishment.
:01:39. > :01:41.Bob Turney was given a suspended sentence after stealing
:01:42. > :01:47.My offending was led because of my addictions.
:01:48. > :01:50.I was stealing to get alcohol and drugs.
:01:51. > :01:57.Until I started addressing that issue, there was no stopping me.
:01:58. > :02:00.So, you put me on a suspended sentence, I just
:02:01. > :02:04.And, of course, a couple of months later, I'm before the
:02:05. > :02:07.court, I'm now doing my suspended sentence plus another sentence.
:02:08. > :02:10.So why are judges opting to let criminals walk free?
:02:11. > :02:16.Some experts say it's because the prisons are too full.
:02:17. > :02:21.Ideally judges would look at the offence and how serious it is in the
:02:22. > :02:25.background of the offender and sentence them on that. Instead it is
:02:26. > :02:29.a constant pressure on them from politicians to take into account the
:02:30. > :02:36.fact that there aren't that many prison places available.
:02:37. > :02:39.The Ministry of Justice says it's re`examining the sentencing process,
:02:40. > :02:42.but goes on to say that each decision made is down to
:02:43. > :02:45.Swindon's Police and Crime Commissioner is
:02:46. > :02:47.in hospital after being taken seriously ill this morning.
:02:48. > :02:50.Angus MacPherson is the PCC for Wiltshire and Swindon and was
:02:51. > :02:56.It is thought he may have suffered a heart attack.
:02:57. > :02:59.A man's pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a pregnant teenager
:03:00. > :03:05.The girl, who was 17 at the time, was attacked in a house
:03:06. > :03:10.26`year`old Mustafa Ahmed changed his plea to guilty at
:03:11. > :03:13.Sinead Carroll was in court and told me what happened today.
:03:14. > :03:16.Mustafa Ahmed spoke through an interpreter at
:03:17. > :03:20.Oxford Crown Court today to change his plea to a guilty one.
:03:21. > :03:23.That means he admitted sexually assaulting a teenager on the
:03:24. > :03:38.The bulk of the evidence came from 27`year`old Bilal Ahmed.
:03:39. > :03:40.He is from Maidenhead and he is charged with sexually
:03:41. > :03:44.He took the stand today to protest his innocence.
:03:45. > :03:47.He appealed directly to the jury a number of times, saying,
:03:48. > :03:53.He accused the teenager of making it all up.
:03:54. > :03:56.He said Mustafa Ahmed must have sexually assaulted the teenager when
:03:57. > :04:00.The prosecution say that DNA evidence found on Bilal
:04:01. > :04:04.and the victim suggest that the sexual assault did take place.
:04:05. > :04:10.He says this was a false allegation, the victim wasn't his type,
:04:11. > :04:13.and the idea that he sexually assaulted her was a joke.
:04:14. > :04:16.What about the third man involved in the trial?
:04:17. > :04:20.He is 26, from Oxford, and he is accused
:04:21. > :04:24.The prosecution say he threatened to shoot the girl
:04:25. > :04:30.He will begin giving evidence next week.
:04:31. > :04:33.Oxfordshire's Fire and Rescue Service has praised a neighbour
:04:34. > :04:36.for calling 999 after hearing a smoke alarm in the house next door.
:04:37. > :04:40.Fire crews rescued a man, who was unhurt.
:04:41. > :04:44.Fire officials are warning people against cooking
:04:45. > :04:51.Chiltern Railways has achieved its best ever punctuality figures.
:04:52. > :04:55.Figures from Network Rail reveal nearly
:04:56. > :04:58.98% of its services arrive at their destination within around five
:04:59. > :05:02.The rail operator says it's the best result since
:05:03. > :05:09.Take a series of classic paintings, add a modern artist ` and
:05:10. > :05:14.Svetlana Petrova has incorporated images of her pet in various
:05:15. > :05:19.Her work's already been a massive hit on the internet.
:05:20. > :05:23.Tom Turrell has been to see it on display in Abingdon.
:05:24. > :05:28.This exhibition near Abingdon features part of a collection
:05:29. > :05:32.from a Russian artist with one familiar theme.
:05:33. > :05:36.Her work featuring her cat Zarathustra has already gone viral,
:05:37. > :05:38.viewed by tens of millions of people online.
:05:39. > :05:53.Firstly, it is cute your city. People like to see something
:05:54. > :05:58.unusual. This is of course unusual. People like to investigate something
:05:59. > :06:01.and see something, and these paintings help people to investigate
:06:02. > :06:10.history. `` art history. These may look like paintings,
:06:11. > :06:13.but actually they've been made Two pictures morphed into one
:06:14. > :06:21.and printed onto canvass. It is extraordinary and beautifully
:06:22. > :06:26.executed. These are beautifully done cats. One can imagine somebody
:06:27. > :06:29.buying these paintings, yes. It is interesting and it will give you a
:06:30. > :06:34.lot to talk about over the dinner table.
:06:35. > :06:36.Some feel they contain a political message, others believe
:06:37. > :06:43.What certainly seems true is the artist wants them to make you smile.
:06:44. > :06:45.Hopefully the weather will also give you something to smile about.
:06:46. > :06:48.Sarah Farmer is coming up with the weekend weather forecast,
:06:49. > :06:50.and tomorrow's looking brighter than today.
:06:51. > :07:01.Quite a quiet night ahead of us. Our fair amount of cloud, but staying
:07:02. > :07:05.largely dry. A couple of breaks in the cloud at times and we could see
:07:06. > :07:10.some patchy mist. For the most part, generally cloudy and dry. That is
:07:11. > :07:16.how we start Saturday. Cloudy for many, but we will see some decent
:07:17. > :07:21.sunny intervals. There are one to show us to be had but I suspect most
:07:22. > :07:26.of us will dodge those. Temperatures up to 17 Celsius in the sunshine.
:07:27. > :07:29.Sunday looking to be a day of cloudy skies with a few breaks here and
:07:30. > :07:32.there. Just one or two showers at times. Let's take a look at the
:07:33. > :07:35.national weather forecast. showers into the early part of next
:07:36. > :07:43.week. Enjoy the weekend, if you can. Now the national outlook.
:07:44. > :07:50.Hello, lots of outdoor plans ahead. By and large, we are in pretty good
:07:51. > :07:55.shape. A quick look back at spring. It was the third warmest on record
:07:56. > :07:58.but the dullest May in Northern Ireland on record. It has been dull
:07:59. > :08:04.across many parts of the UK in actual fact. Scotland had some
:08:05. > :08:10.sunshine and parts of East Anglia and the south-east as well. Under
:08:11. > :08:17.the cloud tonight temperatures will stay well up. But under the clear
:08:18. > :08:18.skies will get down close to