Justice Secretary Jack Straw announced today that people are to be given more and better information about the punishments given to criminals in their area.
Offenders’ crimes and their punishments will be shared more frequently with local communities under new government guidelines, which encourage the police and other criminal justice agencies to make this information more widely available.
The move is part of a wider government drive to make justice more visible and provide better information in a way that is easy to find and understand.
It follows a government poll that showed more than two thirds of people think it is important for the public to be told about the sentences handed out to offenders, but only a quarter currently feel well informed.
Home Secretary, Alan Johnson, said, 'People want to know what happens to criminals in their area once they are convicted because it shows that there are consequences to breaking the law.
'If those consequences are visible to the public, it builds their confidence in the criminal justice system by reassuring those who have had to live alongside these criminals or those who have been their victims that taking a stand against them and supporting the police and local agencies to bring them to justice has been worthwhile.
'Publicising criminal convictions opens up the criminal justice system, making it more transparent and accountable to the public.'
The government’s crime and justice advisor, Louise Casey, has also published a report today outlining why this information should be shared with communities.
Read Louise Casey's report (new window)
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