Thieves who target the elderly should be jailed for at least 18 weeks and longer if they take items worth more than £2,000 or with high sentimental value, a sentencing watchdog said yesterday.

Burglars entering vulnerable community premises, such as schools, churches or doctors’ surgeries, would also earn a heavier penalty. The watchdog recommends that sentences should be heavier because of the “higher than usual degree of harm in terms of inconvenience caused” but courts would have the discretion to impose a community order.

The council proposes a maximum of three years in cases that involve force or intimidation against a vulnerable victim. It also sets out a range of proposed sentences for thieves who steal from shops. At one end of the scale, members of organised shoplifting gangs who intimidate their victims or use or threaten force should face jail of up to four years, it recommends.

At the other end, opportunist thieves who steal from small independent retailers are likely to be fined, unless they are already subject to a banning order or involve a child in carrying out the offence.

For “theft in breach of trust”, such as workers stealing from employers, stealing less than £2,000 could be dealt with by a community order or a fine, but stealing up to £20,000 could mean at least 18 weeks’ custody.Taking £125,000 or more should carry a two to six-year jail term.

Where mitigating circumstances are taken into account, they can include stealing to feed an addiction to drugs, alcohol or gambling, or being “motivated by desperation or need”.

The council’s proposals are open for consultation until May.

Explore Law

• Columnists

• Law Panel

• Law Reports

• Student Law

Times Recommends

• BGC 'set aside £40m to lure Tullett brokers'
• Legal aid review to ensure value
• Fears as 21 magistrates' courts face closure