Half of Britons Satisfied with Sentences Handed to Rioters
A large proportion of respondents think that similar riots could break out again in Britain.
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(09/22/11) -
Almost half of people in Britain think the courts have acted properly in handing out sentences to the people involved in last month’s riots in England, a new Angus Reid Public Opinion poll has found.
In the online survey of a representative national sample of 2,008 British adults, 91 per cent of respondents think a similar situation—that is, widespread rioting, looting and arson in various cities and towns—could happen again in Britain.
Behaviour and upbringing are seen as the most important contributing factors to the riots (92%), followed by access to social media and other digital communications tools (83%), poverty and unemployment (74%), race and ethnicity (62%), and government austerity measures (55%).
Almost half of respondents (48%) think the courts have been “about right” in prosecuting people for their role in the riots, while one third (34%) feel the courts have been too lenient, and 12 per cent say the courts have been too harsh.
Politics and Social Media
Almost half of respondents (48%) approve of the way Prime Minister David Cameron dealt with the riots and their aftermath, while just over a third feel the same way about Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg (37%) and Leader of the Opposition Ed Miliband (38%).
A majority of respondents (58%) believe social media must remain easily accessible, as many law-abiding citizens use these services every day, while three-in-ten (30%) think access to social media must be controlled to prevent further riots from being organized. However, four-in-five respondents (83%) believe communications companies who keep data on social media users should provide this data to the police or proper authorities if it is requested.
The British public is mostly open to specific ideas that have been discussed recently to prevent further riots, including installing more security cameras in areas frequented by youths (84%), making it illegal for people to be on the streets with their faces covered (unless they do so for religious reasons) (80%), establishing curfews for people under the age of 18 in specific areas of a city or town (65%), and restricting the use of social media and other digital communications tools by minors (60%). However, the idea of forbidding minors from using social media and other digital communications tools altogether is rejected by 55 per cent of respondents.
When asked how old a person should be in order to use social media sites (such as Facebook, Twitter or Instant Messaging Services), 33 per cent of respondents believe that only adults should have access to these type of sites. In fact, 22 per cent of respondents would allow children between the ages of 12 and 14 to use social media sites.
Analysis
The public remains concerned with the possibility of new riots, but is placing most of the blame on behaviour and upbringing, and little on the government austerity measures. On this topic, Cameron appears to have connected with the population in a much better fashion than Clegg and Miliband.
Despite many stories related to the sentences that have been handed out for the people who took part in the riots, most respondents believe that the courts have acted adequately, and are more likely to have expected harsher punishments than to believe that prosecutions were too heavy-handed.
A large proportion of the public is also wary of any attempts to restrict or forbid the use of social media and digital tools, while showing a high level of support for more security cameras, banning hoodies and even establishing curfews in specific areas.
It must be outlined that the main proponents of tougher measures are respondents over the age of 55. This group is clearly more likely to believe that the courts have been too lenient with the rioters, and to call for a restriction on social media to prevent further riots.
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Full Report, Detailed Tables and Methodology (PDF)
CONTACT:
Mario Canseco, Vice President, Angus Reid Public Opinion
+877 730 3570
mario.canseco@angus-reid.com
Methodology: From September 11 to September 13, 2011, Angus Reid Public Opinion conducted an online survey among 2,008 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.
