POLICE TO SHAME CONVICTS WITH POSTER CAMPAIGN

Convicted burglars, car thieves and drug dealers are to have their
names and photographs displayed in restaurants, garages and train
stations in the first "name-and-shame" poster campaign to be launched
by a British police force.

Criminals convicted of these crimes and jailed for more than a year in
Brentwood, Essex, will have their personal details and offences
plastered around their home town as part of the scheme, which has
attracted the interest of the Metropolitan Police and could be adopted
throughout the country.

Essex Police hopes the threat of public humiliation will deter
would-be criminals, as well as acting as a warning to those thinking
of visiting the area to sell drugs, steal cars or break into homes.
>From this month, the mugshots will be displayed for two to three weeks
at 30 sites in Little Chef restaurants, railway stations and petrol
stations. Each poster will give the offender's name, age, and crime.

Criminals selected for the "rogues' gallery" will be given a week to
appeal against the publication of their details. Checks will be made
to ensure unsuitable candidates, such as those with mental health
problems, are not featured.

Previous attempts by the police to use "name-and-shame" tactics have
been controversial. In January last year, West Midlands Police came
under attack for projecting 60ft-high photographs of 10 of the force's
most wanted criminals onto the side of its headquarters in Birmingham.
The Law Society, which represents barristers, called for the scheme to
be halted after two of the 10 suspected robbers were found dead in
mysterious circumstances.

The Essex "offender-naming" scheme was devised by Sgt Piers Quinnell,
who noticed while issuing a drugs search warrant that a suspect was
far more worried about his name getting in the local newspaper than
about any possible court action.

Sgt Quinnell, who is based in Brentwood, said: "Criminals can lose
their bravado if faced with the prospect of being identified to their
friends and neighbours as convicted offenders.We believe that this
campaign will not only act as a deterrent ... but will also provide
reassurance to the residents of Brentwood that this type of activity
will not be tolerated."

But Paul Cavadino, chief executive of the crime reduction charity
Nacro, said it was "absurd" to expect the initiative to act as a
deterrent. He added that it would be much harder for people to live a
crime-free life on release from jail if they had been shamed in their
local community.