Half of Britons Would Disclose the Identities of Juvenile Offenders
Three-in-five respondents believe the injunction that remains in place for the perpetrators of the James Bulger murder should be lifted.
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(03/19/10) -
Three-in-five respondents believe the injunction that remains in place for the perpetrators of the James Bulger murder should be lifted.
The notion of forbidding the media from disclosing the identity of juvenile offenders is rejected by a large proportion of people in Britain, a new Angus Reid Public Opinion poll has found.
In the online survey of a representative national sample of 2,003 British adults, half of respondents (49%) believe it is a bad idea to prevent the media from disclosing the identities of juvenile offenders, while 33 per cent endorse this course of action.
People in London are evenly divided on the issue, while respondents in all other areas are more likely to say that preventing disclosure is a bad idea.
The Jamie Bulger Case
An injunction was imposed on the news media, preventing the publication of details about two juvenile offenders, Jon Venables and Robert Thompson, who were found guilty of the murder of two-year old James Bulger in 1993. The injunction was kept in force following their release on parole, so their new identities and locations cannot be revealed.
Three-in-five Britons (59%) believe the injunction for Venables and Thompson should not remain in place anymore, while one-third (34%) think it should continue.
Age of Criminal Responsibility
Half of respondents in England and Wales (49%) are aware that a child can be charged with a crime at the age of 10 years. In Scotland, only 20 per cent of respondents correctly indicate that a child can be charged with a crime at the age of eight.
Download Full Methodology Statement
Full Report, Detailed Tables and Methodology (PDF)
CONTACT:
Mario Canseco, Vice President, Public Affairs
+877 730 3570
mario.canseco@angus-reid.com
Methodology: From March 15 to March 16, 2010, Angus Reid Public Opinion conducted an online survey among 2,003 randomly selected British adults who are Springboard UK panelists. The margin of error—which measures sampling variability—is +/- 2.2%. The results have been statistically weighted according to the most current education, age, gender and region data to ensure samples representative of the entire adult population of Great Britain. Discrepancies in or between totals are due to rounding.
