MAGISTRATES are to discuss whether to lock up more of Gwent's car criminals in a crackdown which they hope would act as a deterrent.

The move comes as our Car Safe campaign, run in connection with Gwent Police, calls for tougher sentences to be imposed on car criminals - plus better security for car parks and for the public to be made more aware of car safety.

If a particular crime is widespread in an area, magistrates have the option of toughening up their sentences in a bid to stop potential offenders going out and committing crimes.

That means a community penalty could in future be replaced with a custodial sentence.

The issue will be discussed at Gwent magistrates' annual meeting in the first week of October.

All magistrates follow a set of national guidelines when sentencing car criminals, to ensure consistency across the country.

The guidelines, said Eddie Harding, Gwent magistrates' chief legal advisor, set a starting point for magistrates to discuss possible sentences.

He said: "They then look at the particular circumstances of the offence they are dealing with.

"Any aggravating features will make it more serious, mitigating features will make it less serious.

"The prevalence of a particular type of crime in a particular area may justify a more severe view being taken of an offence.

"This will enable the court to pass a sentence which has the effect of providing a general deterrence.

"With car crime, magistrates could use the fact that it's a prevalent offence in the area as an aggravating feature.

"This then needs to be applied consistently. That doesn't mean everybody would go to custody, but it's the starting point for discussion."

Mr Harding said the starting point in the magistrates' guidelines for dealing with taking a vehicle without consent - joyriding - was a community penalty, such as a rehabilitation order or community punishment order.

If there are aggravating circumstances - damage is caused or the vehicle is driven dangerously - magistrates can consider custody.

The maximum sentence magistrates can impose is six months imprisonment or a £5,000 fine.

Fines fit the circumstances of the offender. "If they are unemployed, a fine of £100 will be commensurate with a fine many times that amount for someone with the means to pay," Mr Harding said.

Other factors affecting the sentence include: - an offender's previous convictions; - a guilty plea, which entitles the defendant to a reduced sentence; - political pressure not to fill jails unnecessarily.

Mr Harding said: "Every case is dealt with on its merits. I hope it will be understood that magistrates have a statutory duty to take account of all the factors and to impose an appropriate sentence as far as the particular defendant is concerned."