Labour's 'Name and Shame' Plan Ditched Amid Concerns Over Humiliation of Offenders' Families
In a U-turn, ministers have dropped plans to photograph and publicly shame individuals ordered to complete unpaid community service in England and Wales. The policy change comes after Labour faced criticism from its own backbenchers over a series of policy reversals, further deepening the party's unpopularity.
The initiative, which would have been introduced as part of the sentencing bill, aimed to publicise offenders' details and images on government websites and local media outlets. However, concerns were raised that this could lead to the humiliation of offenders' children, with officials eventually accepting an amendment to the bill removing the right to publish names and photographs.
Critics argued that publishing individuals' personal information would only serve as a deterrent for those who are already reformed, while also causing distress to their families. Martin Jones, HM chief inspector of probation, stated that the policy could result in offenders dropping out of community service due to the added pressure of having their images publicly available.
The decision comes amid a planned expansion of "community payback" schemes, where individuals are required to undertake unpaid work, such as cleaning up litter or scrubbing graffiti. Officials initially argued that publishing offenders' details would demonstrate to the public that justice was being delivered, but ultimately recognised that it would be counterproductive and cause unnecessary harm.
Labour's prisons minister, James Timpson, announced the policy change in a statement, stating that unpaid work will continue to be "tough and visible enough" without the need for this specific measure. The bill is set to return to the House of Commons for final agreement, where it remains uncertain whether Labour will stick to its revised stance or backtrack further.
The government's decision marks another turn in a series of policy reversals that have seen it backpedal on plans for mandatory ID cards for working people, offer temporary support to pubs, and alter its proposals for a tractor tax on agricultural land. As the party struggles to regain public trust, the 'Name and Shame' plan has become the latest casualty of Labour's chaotic mismanagement.
In a U-turn, ministers have dropped plans to photograph and publicly shame individuals ordered to complete unpaid community service in England and Wales. The policy change comes after Labour faced criticism from its own backbenchers over a series of policy reversals, further deepening the party's unpopularity.
The initiative, which would have been introduced as part of the sentencing bill, aimed to publicise offenders' details and images on government websites and local media outlets. However, concerns were raised that this could lead to the humiliation of offenders' children, with officials eventually accepting an amendment to the bill removing the right to publish names and photographs.
Critics argued that publishing individuals' personal information would only serve as a deterrent for those who are already reformed, while also causing distress to their families. Martin Jones, HM chief inspector of probation, stated that the policy could result in offenders dropping out of community service due to the added pressure of having their images publicly available.
The decision comes amid a planned expansion of "community payback" schemes, where individuals are required to undertake unpaid work, such as cleaning up litter or scrubbing graffiti. Officials initially argued that publishing offenders' details would demonstrate to the public that justice was being delivered, but ultimately recognised that it would be counterproductive and cause unnecessary harm.
Labour's prisons minister, James Timpson, announced the policy change in a statement, stating that unpaid work will continue to be "tough and visible enough" without the need for this specific measure. The bill is set to return to the House of Commons for final agreement, where it remains uncertain whether Labour will stick to its revised stance or backtrack further.
The government's decision marks another turn in a series of policy reversals that have seen it backpedal on plans for mandatory ID cards for working people, offer temporary support to pubs, and alter its proposals for a tractor tax on agricultural land. As the party struggles to regain public trust, the 'Name and Shame' plan has become the latest casualty of Labour's chaotic mismanagement.
I think this is a good riddance tbh. I mean, who wants their family to be publicly shamed too? It's already hard enough for them. The government should focus on actually helping people get back on their feet rather than just punishing them. And what's the point of publishing someone's details anyway? Is it really going to deter them from doing bad things again? 
I guess it could have been a good idea, but the potential harm outweighed any supposed benefits.
photographing people and shaming them in front of their families is just so wrong its like the gov is trying to humiliate ppl for doing something they probably already regret like I get that ppl should do community service but gotta be able to take responsibility without being made a public spectacle
. I think it was always a bit dodgy that they were going to publish people's personal info online, especially if their kids are around 
. It's just common decency, you know? And Martin Jones made some sense too - all this drama isn't gonna make people change for the better, but instead might scare them off the whole community service thing 
. Plus, it's not like we need more online shaming in our lives 
. Let's just focus on helping people get back on their feet and give 'em a chance to prove themselves, ya know?
. It's hard to keep track of what's going on with them right now 
.
. I get that Labour was trying to be tough on crime and all, but this policy just seems like it's gonna backfire 
. Can't we just focus on helping people get their lives back on track instead of making them feel even worse about themselves? 
. I mean, they were all set to expose these offenders on the internet but now it's all being dropped because of the backlash from their own MPs 
. It just goes to show that even with good intentions, things can spiral out of control if you're not careful 
. And what really gets me is how this policy change affects the families of these people - I feel bad for them, it's like they're already going through so much and now their names are going to be out there too 
. It just shows that sometimes things aren't as black and white as we think they are 
. Anyway, back to Labour being in a mess... 
. But on the other hand, it feels like a cop-out after all those policy reversals 
. If they can't even trust their own party members to back them up, how are they gonna trust the public to support their policies? 
. Maybe instead of ditching the plan altogether, they should've found a way to modify it so it didn't harm families too much 
. Either way, it's clear that this policy change is just another example of Labour struggling to find its footing 
. And yeah, Martin Jones makes some valid points - if it's gonna cause people to drop out of community service, that's not a good thing at all 
. I'm glad they decided to scrap it before it caused any more harm 
...
family members don't deserve to be humiliated too... might just be a slippery slope where public shaming becomes more common than we want 
. It's just not right to use someone's personal info as a form of punishment, especially when they've already served their time.
. It's gotta be tough and make you think about what you've done. But we don't need to resort to public shaming to get that point across 
. Let's just stick with doing what works, you know?
i mean i get it, dont wanna traumatize kids, but at the same time, isnt the point of community service 2 help ppl reform? its all so confusing... and what about the "deterrent" thing tho? like wont ppl still break laws if they think they can just hide from the public eye? 
it's all about politics and PR at this point. they should focus on actually helping the community instead of just making a statement. 
, and we saw this huge exhibit on penguins that was literally so cool! I mean, have you ever seen how fast they can swim? It's like, whoa! Anyway, speaking of swimming, I've been meaning to get a new pair of goggles for our next pool party... 
And, oh yeah, I just remembered that my favorite coffee shop is having a "Bring Your Dog" day on Saturday – anyone else free? 
️
I also think it's weird that Labour is backtracking on this one... they were all about being tough on crime and now they're softening their stance. 
Plus, think about all those poor families who'd be affected by it. Like, yeah, we want to hold people accountable, but do we really need to humiliate them in public? 
