Sleazy sort, bird placed in criminal file (3-4)

I believe the answer is:

low-life

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'sleazy sort' is the definition.
I don't know anything about this answer so I cannot tell whether it can be defined by this definition.

'bird placed in criminal file' is the wordplay.
'bird' becomes 'owl' (owl is a kind of bird).
'placed in' indicates putting letters inside (I've seen this in other clues).
'criminal' indicates anagramming the letters.
'file' with letters rearranged gives 'life'.
'owl' going inside 'life' is 'LOW-LIFE'.

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I've seen this clue in The Sun.

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