Almost 8% of those sentenced in the Cleveland Police area last year had 50 or more previous convictions
Teesside has the highest proportion of hardcore criminals in the country, new figures show.
The figures relate to those offenders sentenced with 50 or more previous convictions.
Last year, in the Cleveland Police force area, there were 660 people sentenced who had 50 or more previous convictions on their record - 7.7% of all the people sentenced in the Teesside area.
This proportion was the worst in the country - the next being the Northumbria Police region.
In that area, 7.3% of the people sentenced had 50 or more previous convictions.
The figures were released by the Ministry of Justice.
They were based on counting the number of sentencing occasions for offences committed by offenders who were prosecuted by Cleveland Police.
The figures also showed that a third, or 33%, of all criminals sentenced in the Cleveland Police force area had 20 or more previous convictions.
A Tees Valley Probation Trust spokesman said challenging economic and social issues on Teesside are reflected in the figures.
He said: “The facts are that in terms of the overall re-offending figures in the trust area, we are achieving better than predicted results.
“Of course the re-offending predictions reflect the fact we are operating in an area with some of the most challenging economic and social issues in the country.
“We are constantly working to reduce re-offending across the board - including those with large numbers of convictions - and have in place a range of different schemes, such as the integrated offenders management programme which provides a framework for bringing together agencies to prioritise dealing with offenders who cause crime in their locality.”
In total across England and Wales there were 14,646 hardcore criminals recorded last year.
A spokeswoman for Cleveland Police said: “The force is committed to reducing crime on the streets, identifying offenders and putting them before the courts where the magistrate or judge will make a decision on how to reprimand an offender.
“We do work closely with the probation service and other agencies to reduce reoffending rates of people who have integrated back into communities.”
Sentences for persistent criminals vary greatly.
In March, Craig Edward Wood pleaded for leniency after being convicted of burglary, telling Judge John Walford at Teesside Crown Court “I just don’t want to waste my life any more.”
The 34-year-old from Queen’s Walk, Stockton, was sentenced to one year’s prison, suspended for two years with a year’s supervision, which included his first drug rehabilitation requirement, and 100 hours’ unpaid work, despite it being his 94th offence.
Persistent thief James Fraser, 33, of Letitia Street, Middlesbrough, was jailed for 22 months in February after pulling a screwdriver on a dance studio worker.
He used the tool to break into cars outside the Tower dance studio in Newport Road, Middlesbrough, but then brandished it at workers who approached him.
After he admitted threatening behaviour with an offensive weapon, theft from two vehicles and criminal damage to the cuffs, Teesside Crown Court heard he already had 88 previous offences and had been released from jail just six days before the latest thefts.
Last year, Martin Peter Chambers, 32, was locked up after he was convicted of his 97th offence .
The drug addict from Turner Street, Redcar, was being sentenced for shoplifting, the latest in a line of crimes to fund his addiction.
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