Criminals sentenced at magistrates courts are more likely to have their crimes publicised in their communities following a groundbreaking initiative by Kent Police.

The force will be issuing a selection of cases from local courts around the county every week as part of its 'Justice Seen, Justice Done’ campaign, saying it is responding to a demand among the public to find out more about the end results of offences committed in their neighbourhoods.

Magistrates courts deal with less serious criminal matters included road offences, criminal damage and drug possession.

Justice minister Clare Ward visit police headquarters in Maidstone on Monday to launch the idea. She said: “I congratulate Kent Police 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.

“People want to know what happens to criminals in their area once they are convicted because it shows that there are consequences to breaking the law.

"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.”

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.”

Kent Messenger editor Bob Bounds, who was at the launch, said: “Obviously this is to be welcomed and certainly we will be using this service to inform our readers.

"We can’t cover every case at the magistrates' courts but your local paper is still the best place to find out how criminals are being dealt with – plus the true impact of these offences, which isn’t conveyed really by this latest information.

“I explained to the minister that papers are only too willing to publicise these cases because our readers want to see them. We need the help of the police, and especially court staff, in getting access to this information. That isn’t always the case.”