NORTH KENT: Criminals named and shamed on police website (From News Shopper)
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NORTH KENT: Criminals named and shamed on police website
4:48pm Tuesday 9th March 2010 in
CRIMINALS in north Kent are to be named and shamed on the police website to raise public confidence in the justice system.
Justice Minister Claire Ward launched the countywide scheme during a visit to Kent police headquarters in Maidstone yesterday.
It sees the names of recent offenders and their crimes and punishments listed on the Kent police website, and is part of a government campaign to make the justice system more transparent.
Ms Ward said: “People want to know what happens to criminals in their area once they are convicted because it shows there are consequences to breaking the law.
“We are encouraging the authorities to publish details of crimes and the punishments criminals have received, and Kent is one of those areas leading the way.”
Details of a number of offenders and their crimes were uploaded to kent.police.uk last week, with listings categorised by the area of the county where the offence took place.
For example, 42-year-old Frank Mehr is listed in the north Kent section after being jailed for 21 days by Dartford Magistrates’ Court on February 19 after being found guilty of shoplifting.
Mehr, of Priory Hill in Dartford, stole £204.56 worth of batteries from the Asda Living store in Prospect Place, Dartford, on February 5, the court heard.
A Ministry of Justice spokeswoman said the scheme aims to “set straight the misconception that human rights and data protection laws prevent criminals and their punishments being exposed”.
Townfield Corner in Gravesend resident Mike Cubitt has welcomed the scheme, saying people will think twice about committing a crime if they know they could be publicly named and shamed.
The 65-year-old said: “If you commit a crime people should be able to look up the details to know what you have done. It shows justice is being done.”
In August last year Mr Cubitt tackled 28-year-old Wayne Austin as he left a house he had just burgled in Townfield Corner.
Mr Cubitt’s evidence led to Austin, who lived in Medhurst Gardens in Gravesend at the time, being jailed for three years.
Comments(16)
porkpie
says...
10:32am Wed 10 Mar 10
SE9,10,18
says...
2:35pm Wed 10 Mar 10
sj67
says...
1:46am Thu 11 Mar 10
sj67
says...
2:02am Thu 11 Mar 10
What a useless bunch with too much time on their hands, they need to address the real issues, prefferably starting with the ones in their own offices!
porkpie
says...
5:22pm Thu 11 Mar 10
sj67 wrote:Maybe the criminals should think of that before breaking the law.
To add...Has anyone thought what it might do to the families who are innocent, little brothers and sisters being bullied at school...another well thought out plan by Kent Authorities, NOT What a useless bunch with too much time on their hands, they need to address the real issues, prefferably starting with the ones in their own offices!
GODUPERE2
says...
10:11pm Thu 11 Mar 10
sj67 wrote:No Doughnut, they will only publish the names of the convicted. Do you understand what convicted means?
To add...Has anyone thought what it might do to the families who are innocent, little brothers and sisters being bullied at school...another well thought out plan by Kent Authorities, NOT What a useless bunch with too much time on their hands, they need to address the real issues, prefferably starting with the ones in their own offices!
It means GUILTY.
Duh!!!!
sj67
says...
12:01am Fri 12 Mar 10
Porkpie, how does whether the criminal cares or not if they are caught (which they evidentally dont or they wouldn't have done the crime) justify the torment those left behind have to go through? Who is going to protect the innocents who ultimately get tarred with the same brush.
I would love to know if a family member of a copper, MP, local councillor etc comitted a crime, gets his or her name splashed across the website, will it be prudent to keep it off the page in that instance? Cant see it happening somehow
I love poeple like you - cant see the bigger picture, get out of your bubble and into the real world, this runs deeper than naming a crim.
Binski
says...
5:41pm Fri 12 Mar 10
http://www.facebook.
com/group.php?gid=31
0572835068
sj67
says...
11:17pm Fri 12 Mar 10
Hpwever, how does naming and shaming the rapists on a police website help the innocent people here? Hollie's siblings (if she has any) would go through hell, social services are brilliant at picking up on these things when the victims become adults and taking their children away because they 'might' be abusers themselves, the families of the criminals didnt commit the act, they will also be hounded while the prisoner languishes in jail with all the latest equipment and technology! Its the innocent in crimes who suffer ultimately!
porkpie
says...
3:22pm Sat 13 Mar 10
sj67
says...
9:09pm Sat 13 Mar 10
What the general public dont realise is crimes such as criminal damage are not how we would automatically see them, such as violently smashing up a car or breaking a window etc, those crimes are given a ref number and no-one comes out to them, criminal damage could be a 12 year old drawing hopscotch on the pavement with chalk!! It is an arrestable offence and yes, children go to court for it, dont be blinded by this propoganda.
Of course there are some real crimes out there and the police do catch them, but you'll only see criminal damage, not the whole story behind it.
SE9,10,18
says...
11:52am Mon 15 Mar 10
sj67
says...
12:48am Tue 16 Mar 10
I expect you couldn't be more wrong, what are you doing to help the Venables situation? You dont know me, you havent a clue what i am doing to help towards it
MB
says...
12:30pm Tue 16 Mar 10
sj67 wrote:You don't seem to get the point: if the potential violent rapist knows that his crimes will be made public if he's caught and convicted then maybe he will think twice before committing such a horrendous crime and getting his family into trouble. This is the way legal systems work in most countries and this country also needs to get over its 60's leftie-liberal tradition of pampering criminals.
Thats not what i said and you know it, it's the whole naming & shaming thing on the website, dont you realise it's got nothing to do with protecting you and me? It's spin, so that the police look like they are doing an excellent job! What the general public dont realise is crimes such as criminal damage are not how we would automatically see them, such as violently smashing up a car or breaking a window etc, those crimes are given a ref number and no-one comes out to them, criminal damage could be a 12 year old drawing hopscotch on the pavement with chalk!! It is an arrestable offence and yes, children go to court for it, dont be blinded by this propoganda. Of course there are some real crimes out there and the police do catch them, but you'll only see criminal damage, not the whole story behind it.
sj67
says...
12:49pm Tue 16 Mar 10
I am done with this conversation until someone who can see this little exercise for what it is comes along. I am not being blindly roped in by propganda, if you wish to, then go ahead lambchops
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L to R: Chairwoman of the Kent Police Authority Ann Barnes and Justice Minister Claire Ward at the launch of the scheme
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Irwin says...
12:29am Wed 10 Mar 10