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Should criminals be publicly named and shamed?
Criminals who commit minor offences in Northamptonshire could have details of their punishments publicised to make the public aware of how they are being dealt with.
Northamptonshire Police is looking to follow the lead of the Kent force, one of the first to report on the results of court cases, including anti-social behaviour, speeding and criminal damage.
Tim Prince, Northamptonshire Police's head of corporate communications, said they are working with the court service to see how they can publicise sentencing outcomes from crown and magistrates courts and they want to release more photos of those who commit serious crimes.
Mr Prince said they release about 170 photos a year but many are in response to requests from the media.
He said: "The Home Office has recently released a report about publishing sentencing outcomes and that the justice system should be open and transparent.
"We need to tell the public that this was the problem in their community, we have dealt with it and arrested someone, they have been convicted and this is what they have received. We as a force might be satisfied that we have done a good job but we need to tell people we
have had successes."
A spokesman for the Crown Prosecution Service in Northamptonshire said: "The CPS believes strongly in the principles of open justice and making sure that the public can see that justice is being done.
Naturally this has to be sensitive to the legal process and ensuring all trials are fair.
"We are working with our partners in the Local Criminal Justice Board to develop ways to keep the public more informed about cases locally."
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Weather for Kettering
Monday 13 February 2012
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