Leaflets to name local criminals

OFFENDERS could be named and shamed on leaflets under plans being considered by ministers.

Home Office officials are said to be pushing the idea for the leaflets to be handed out in local communities but face resistance from their counterparts at the Justice Ministry.

Justice Secretary Jack Straw is said to support publishing details of punishments on court intranets, but the Home Office has yet to win the battle to include the plan in a justice Green Paper to be published next month.

Criminals fear publicity as much as jail or fines, according to government research.

The Ministry of Justice says the leaflets could fuel vigilantism but the Home Office thinks they would help to restore public faith in the justice system.