Criminal Mugshots Among ‘Most Read’

An online editor has revealed that his website’s rogues’ gallery is a regular fixture in its most read stories chart.

Ian Brogden of Cumbria’s News & Star said the Banged Up photo feature has attracted significant levels of traffic since it was unveiled in February this year.

He told Journalism.co.uk that the gallery regularly draws some 60,000 page impressions per month.



Pictures of local people who have been given prison sentences of two years or more are included in the collection, which is frequently updated with assistance from the police.

Following the success of the project, the News & Star’s sister title has also started its own gallery.

The North-West Evening Mail states: “We are highlighting some of the worst offenders on-line and updating it regularly, as people are brought to justice.”

And Superintendent Paul Kennedy from South Cumbria said in support of the initiative: “It’s important that the public know what’s happening in our law courts in order to feel confident about our justice system.

“These sentences also send out a message to criminals, that if you commit crime then you will be punished.”