The Act Party wants a "three strikes" regime for burglary, which would introduce a mandatory three-year jail sentence for a third offence.
Mr Seymour said a large proportion of burglars - as high as 28 per cent - with two existing convictions were not given a prison sentence on their third "strike".
In response, Ms Adams said she had seen no evidence that greater use of imprisonment terms would lead to a reduction in reoffending.
"What we have seen is that imprisonment is already the most common sentence for burglary offences, and yet there is still a recidivism rate that is too high."
Ms Adams cited figures which showed more than half of recidivist burglars were given a prison term.