Plans to 'name and shame' people on community service savaged in letter to David Lammy
Plans to name and shame people on Community Payback schemes could do 'severe and long-lasting damage' to children with parents in the criminal justice system, experts warn today.
Plans to "name and shame" people on Community Payback schemes could do “severe and long-lasting damage” to children with parents in the criminal justice system, experts warn today.
David Lammy - the new Justice Secretary - is under pressure to reverse the proposals, which are set to be included in the Government’s Sentencing Bill.
More than 20 justice organisations and individuals will send a letter to Mr Lammy today, saying: “Robust and well-managed unpaid work schemes fulfil an important function, allowing people who have committed a crime to pay back to their community.
"We do not believe that ‘naming and shaming’ people in this way will support rehabilitation or efforts to reduce reoffending.”
READ MORE: Nigel Farage ridiculed after he tries to get attention with lame stunt in PMQsThey warn it would also bring “unintended, yet undeniably harmful consequences” for many thousands of children and young people whose parents are subject to unpaid work requirements.
“The rights and wellbeing of children, young people and families must not become collateral damage in a rush to ‘toughen up’ community sentencing,” it adds.
The Government estimates that nearly 200,000 children every year experience the imprisonment of a parent, something which is recognised as an Adverse Childhood Experience.
Children with parents caught up in the criminal justice system can face challenges such as the emotional and mental impact of the stigma and shame, as well as bullying from their peers, the letter adds.
Signatures of the letter include Andy Keen-Downs, the chief executive of the Prison Advice and Care Trust, Dr Carol Homden, the chief executive of Coram, and Pia Sinha, the CEO of the Prison Reform Trust.
The Guardian reported last month that ministers are pushing through powers to photograph, name and shame offenders who have been ordered to complete unpaid community work in England and Wales.
At the time, Martin Jones, HM inspector of probation, said he was “very concerned” about the proposals which he said could result in more offenders dropping out.
A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: “Unpaid work forces offenders to publicly atone for their crimes and give back to the communities they have wronged. It is punishment that works.
“Through the Sentencing Bill we will set out measures to increase the visibility of this sentence even further and allow the public to see justice being served."