The Justice Minister has praised Kent Police for their scheme to publish selected magistrates court results on their website.
Launching the new Justice Seen, Justice Done feature Claire Ward MP said:'I think this is a great initiative by Kent Police and I congratulate them on producing a system that appeals to the public and reflects the issues that concern them. This is a great way to tell people in Kent what is happening.”
'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.
'Individual crimes often get a lot of media coverage and news can spread across communities quickly that a crime has been committed. However, the news that someone has been caught, prosecuted, convicted and sentenced does not travel as far.
'We want to make sure that communities know that criminals will not escape the consequences of their crimes and are encouraging the authorities to publish details of crimes and the punishments criminals have received - Kent is one of those areas leading the way.'
It’s believed Kent is the first force in Britain to be publishing details of selected cases from the magistrates’ courts. These are based around the key issues identified by the people of Kent as of concern to them – including anti-social behaviour, speeding, drink driving and criminal damage.
Assistant Chief Constable Gary Beautridge said : 'Ninety-five per cent of court cases are dealt with by the magistrates courts and that’s what the people of Kent want to know about. The public are often aware when we arrest people but haven’t always been finding out how they are then dealt with. Working with our website, our newsletters and with the newspapers across Kent we hope to bridge that gap.'
'We’ve had extensive talks with the public and with local newspaper editors and everyone says the same thing – what people want to read is what matters to them, the issues that affect them in their communities.'
Ann Barnes, Chair of Kent Police Authority said: ‘I’m delighted that once again Kent Police is at the forefront nationally. Local communities will welcome this exciting new initiative. Now for the first time they will be able
to find out how people who break the law are dealt with in the court system by visiting the Kent Police website.’
To view the new site visit www.kent.police.uk