Ministers are pushing through new powers to photograph, name and shame offenders completing unpaid community work in England and Wales, as part of the sentencing bill currently moving through parliament. The move would give probation officers a legal power to publish names and pictures of individuals ordered to tidy grass verges, litter-pick or scrub graffiti.
The government says the policy aims to build confidence in community sentences, but critics argue it could humiliate offenders and their families. Martin Jones, HM inspector of probation, warned it could act as a disincentive to rehabilitation and lead to more offenders dropping out. Ian Lawrence, general secretary of the Napo probation officers’ union, said the change would bring shame upon families, particularly children, and could place some offenders at risk.
The policy comes as the government plans to rapidly expand community payback as an alternative to custodial sentences, to divert offenders from overcrowded prisons. Offenders can be sentenced to between 40 and 300 hours of unpaid work, usually wearing hi-vis jackets printed with “community payback”. A Ministry of Justice policy paper states that publishing names and photos will demonstrate to the public that justice is being delivered.
Probation officers will assess whether an individual’s circumstances pose a risk to themselves or others that justifies an exemption. However, a Ministry of Justice report last year found that many offenders felt stigma and shame from wearing branded hi-vis vests, which could impact compliance. Campbell Robb, chief executive of the social justice charity Nacro, said naming and shaming does not deliver justice and risks pushing people further to the margins.
