Named, shamed and framed

Essex police want to shame repeat offenders by putting their faces on posters for all to see. But does the proposed campaign ignore criminals' human rights? Paul Lashmar reports

Gary Ellis is about to become the best-known face in his home town of Brentwood in Essex. If the local police force have their way Ellis's less than angelic face will be staring from 40 posters on commuter railway station platforms and at Little Chef restaurants. But 27-year-old Ellis is profoundly unhappy about his potential celebrity status and it's not out of modesty.

A former crack addict, Ellis is a prolific car thief and burglar. He was chosen by Essex police as a suitable candidate to launch their "name and shame" poster campaign. The force planned to put up posters of Ellis two weeks ago in prime spots around Brentwood as part of a groundbreaking crime prevention scheme.

But an alarmed, if not noticeably contrite, Ellis instructed his lawyers to oppose the campaign in the courts. He has had to do this from his cell in London's Belmarsh Prison. Originally sentenced to three years for burglary and vehicle crime, Ellis reappeared on 9 December on further charges and had six months added to his sentence.

Ellis's solicitors have obtained an injunction stopping the police from putting up the posters. They are taking the case to judicial review, saying it breaches his human rights under Article 8 of the European Convention. Essex police say they will contest the case. If they are successful, "naming and shaming" posters will become commonplace not only in Essex but elsewhere. Eight other forces are planning campaigns.

The case has opened something of a Pandora's box. It raises fundamental questions not only about naming and shaming but also about the nature of the judicial process. What is the balance between punishment and rehabilitation in a prison sentence? What is the role of community opprobrium in deterring anti-social behaviour? What human rights should we allow criminals who so obviously abuse the human rights of others? Why are the British so squeamish about embarrassing their criminals?

Essex police are not commenting about the case in detail while it is under review. But speaking before the proposed launch date, the campaign's initiator, Sergeant Piers Quinnell, explained that Ellis had been chosen because he was a "prolific offender". The aim was not to humiliate Ellis but to make him think twice about re-offending. "From our experiences few criminals will want to see their name and face displayed to their neighbours in this blatant manner," says Sgt Quinnell.

Despite what Sgt Quinnell says, you cannot help suspect that "naming and shaming" is there pour encourager les autres – putting off potential offenders with the fear of the indignation of your community. Anonymity is a great asset to the criminal.

Married with young children, Ellis's main objection is that it will not so much affect him as his wife and children, who will suffer vilification for his crimes. Roger Watkins, the editor of Ellis's local paper, the Brentwood Gazette, says public sympathy is limited: "Gary Ellis might like to consider the human rights of those he burgled."

But Ellis argues that to be singled out in this way is unfair and not to be expected as a part of his punishment. He has received backing from prisoners' support groups. Lucy Gampell, director of Action for Prisoners' Families, calls the police campaign "utterly misguided", viewing it as a major infringement of the right to privacy for the family of the prisoner. She says: "The real victims of this initiative will be the family members of this offender and other families to be named in future campaigns."

In turn, MPs, civil rights groups and victims of crime have reacted angrily, suggesting criminals' rights are being given more consideration than those of law-abiding citizens. Shadow Home Secretary Oliver Letwin feels the situation is "barmy".

Essex police say they carried out a risk assessment before Ellis was chosen for the posters. This took into account the impact the campaign might have had on his mental health and examined whether it could turn vulnerable relatives into targets.

It has always been a fundamental proposition of English law that justice has to be seen to be done to be effective. As most of us do not have the time to pop down to the Crown Court and watch cases, the role of informing the public has been taken on by the media. Bob Satchwell of the Society of Editors says it is an important part of the role of local papers. "The nature of community has changed. In the past those who were anti-social and convicted risked the disdain of their uncles, aunts and family, who would have all lived nearby and got to hear about the miscreant. But that has all changed." As he points out, families no longer live so close together and the offender may be convicted in a court miles from their home. "It's now the local paper's job to keep the community informed. Local papers are all about creating a local community," says Satchwell. "The paper is very useful in identifying miscreants."

So why have the local police usurped the media's traditional role of publishing court convictions? Roger Watkins says that it is now harder for local papers to cover all the courts. "When I started out, each court had its reporter. But these days we do not have those kind of resources."

But do the press publish photographs so the public can identify the miscreants? "Generally no," says Watkins. And here comes the rub. It is hard to get the pictures from the police. "They are not too helpful on this," says Watkins. "They usually quote the Data Protection Act." Bob Satchwell says this is a common problem: "The police often say they can't supply photographs because of human rights or because of the Data Protection Act. But I think it's largely an administrative matter. They don't want to have to process the photos.

Essex police confirm Satchwell's suspicion. Spokesman Peter Lawrie says, "We simply cannot provide photographs of all those who are convicted. We would end up as a photographic laboratory." He says they will provide pictures of people convicted of very serious offences, from murder and rape down to repeat burglary.

"Given modern technology it should not be hard for the police to supply photographs of all convicted criminals," says Bob Satchwell, who points to the United States, where photos of all those convicted are available by right to the media. Both the media and police largely agree that it is not right to print the pictures of certain offenders. "We would not want to print in the case of someone who has been convicted of their first, minor offence," says Satchwell.

Gary Ellis's lawyer, Martin Harris, argues that Essex police's decision to emblazon his client's picture across Brentwood breaches his human rights on several grounds. "A convicted criminal is to be punished only once for the crimes he has committed," he says. "It is fundamental to English Law that each person should receive the same punishment for the same crime." Publishing Ellis's photograph is an additional punishment, says Harris. "One of the purposes of punishment is rehabilitation of the offender and reintegration to lawful society."

Ellis's argument finds support from rehabilitation campaigners. Paul Cavadino, chief executive of the crime reduction charity Nacro, says it is "absurd" to expect the initiative to act as a deterrent. He says it is much harder for people to live a crime-free life on release from jail if they have been shamed in their community.

Perhaps the strongest argument against naming and shaming comes from the vigilantism that followed theNews of the World's campaign to identify paedophiles living anonymously around the country. Sex offenders were driven from their homes by mobs of locals who, in one notable case, couldn't tell the difference between a paedophile and paediatrician.

But Bob Satchwell argues that cases of vigilantes attacking people convicted of less emotive crimes and subsequently named in local papers, are very rare: "Where it does happen, we should come down on vigilantes as hard as any other criminal."