Results of some cases from magistrates courts in Kent will be available online under plans praised by the justice minister today.

Police in Kent have been pushing the scheme whereby some, but not all, cases will have their results published so victims of crime and others can follow their cases through the system.

Launch the Justice Seen, Justice Done feature, minister Claire Ward MP said: "I think this is a great initiative by Kent Police and I congratulate them on producing a system that appeals to the public and reflects the issues that concern them. This is a great way to tell people in Kent what is happening.

"Individual crimes often get a lot of media coverage and news can spread across communities quickly that a crime has been committed.

"However, the news that someone has been caught, prosecuted, convicted and sentenced does not travel as far.

"We want to make sure that communities know that criminals will not escape the consequences of their crimes and are encouraging the authorities to publish details of crimes and the punishments criminals have received - Kent is one of those areas leading the way."

Kent is the first area in Britain to be publishing results in that way and will be likely to include crimes identified by the people of Kent as of concern to them.

They include including anti-social behaviour, speeding, drink driving and criminal damage.

Assistant Chief Constable Gary Beautridge said: "Ninety-five per cent of court cases are dealt with by the magistrates courts and that’s what the people of Kent want to know about.

"The public are often aware when we arrest people but haven’t always been finding out how they are then dealt with. Working with our website, our newsletters and with the newspapers across Kent we hope to bridge that gap.

"We’ve had extensive talks with the public and with local newspaper editors and everyone says the same thing - what people want to read is what matters to them, the issues that affect them in their communities."