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Why has the suspect in the Southport stabbings not been named?

31 Jul 2024 4 minute read
Photo James Speakman/PA Wire

Questions have been raised about why the identity of the teenager arrested over the Southport stabbings has not been made public.

Detectives have been given more time to question the 17-year-old over the incident and he remains in custody after being detained on suspicion of murder and attempted murder. No charges have been brought.

At this stage, the boy has not been identified because of his age amid active ongoing criminal proceedings.

The criminal age of responsibility in England and Wales is 10 years old, meaning children aged between 10 and 17 can be arrested and taken to court if they commit a crime.

The identity of defendants and witnesses under the age of 18 who are subject to criminal proceedings in youth courts is protected by automatic reporting restrictions under Section 49 of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933.

If a child is charged with an offence and is facing criminal proceedings in adult courts – magistrates’ and crown courts – then magistrates and judges have legal powers to grant anonymity to a child defendant, witness or victim under Section 45 of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999.

Reporting restrictions

Both of these laws ban the press from publishing a child defendant’s name or any detail which could lead to them being identified while the reporting restrictions remain in place.

This is why media reports sometimes say they cannot identify a child involved in a criminal court case for legal reasons.

The automatic restrictions technically begin once court proceedings are active – when a suspect has been charged and is appearing in court for the first time – which could give rise to questions as to why the teenager in the Southport case has still not been identified.

But media organisations typically refrain from identifying any child arrested on suspicion of a crime, having considered their ethical and other legal responsibilities, because there is the prospect this could then lead to prosecution and court proceedings where the reporting restrictions in question will activate.

Press regulator IPSO advises editors to “generally avoid naming children under the age of 18 after arrest for a criminal offence but before they appear in a youth court unless they can show that the individual’s name is already in the public domain, or that the individual (or, if they are under 16, a custodial parent or similarly responsible adult) has given their consent”, adding: “This does not restrict the right to name juveniles who appear in a crown court, or whose anonymity is lifted.”

Anonymous

Child defendants will remain anonymous throughout legal proceedings but these restrictions can be challenged – usually by reporters – after the court case has ended.

If a child is convicted of a crime, having either pleaded guilty or been found guilty after a trial, magistrates and judges have powers to lift reporting restrictions so the defendant can be identified in some circumstances, including if this is considered in the public interest.

Media may try to challenge the anonymity order if identifying the child could help to maintain public confidence in the justice system, or deter others from offending, by allowing full details of the case to be reported.

There could be a strong public interest in lifting reporting restrictions when the convicted child had been involved in significant disorder so the public can be satisfied an offender has been brought to justice, or if the case involved serious offences which undermined the public’s confidence in the safety of their communities, for example.

The restriction automatically ends when the child turns 18.

In February, teenagers Scarlett Jenkinson and Eddie Ratcliffe were identified for the first time as they were both handed life sentences for the “sadistic” 2023 murder of transgender 16-year-old Brianna Ghey, after a judge lifted a ban on them being named by the press.


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Welshman28
Welshman28
4 months ago

He, a minor but where does Labour stand now if they bring the voting age to 16 does that mean he becomes an adult . This is exactly what Labour claim and voice off at 16 you become an adult . ?? So their names will have to be disclosed

Evan Aled Bayton
Evan Aled Bayton
4 months ago

Why is “sadistic” in inverted commas when it was so obviously sadistic while transgender is not?

Jeff
Jeff
4 months ago

This not naming trope is just a rallying cry for the white supremacists that want to get people on their side of race hate (see the racist riot yesterday). The politicians can also reign it in. There is a law, we use it. The person arrested will get a trial, they will be defended in court as our law demands. The “no name” is just a dog whistle for the foot soldiers of the racist hate peddler’s, it gets likes on social media, it is being used to stoke hate. What do we do if the name is released? What… Read more »

Adrian
Adrian
4 months ago
Reply to  Jeff

If he’d have been a right-wing nutter his name would have been shouted from the roof tops within 24 hours.

Adrian Bamford
Adrian Bamford
4 months ago
Reply to  Jeff
Jeff
Jeff
4 months ago
Reply to  Adrian Bamford

Yes. Read the above guidelines I posted. They are in english.

CapM
CapM
4 months ago
Reply to  Adrian Bamford

The link you provide shows than the two white under eighteens names were only made public AFTER they were found guilty which was TEN months after they had been arrested.

Presumably your comment was to show how unjustified Adrian’s comment was.

CapM
CapM
4 months ago
Reply to  Adrian

Not by the press if the “right-wing nutter” was under eighteen.

That’s not to say that other “right-wing nutters” would name him and declare him a hero of England.

Bethan
Bethan
4 months ago
Reply to  Jeff

Exactly. This article begins with “Questions have been raised”. Only by people with a lack of respect for the legal process and others stupid enough to follow them. Maybe these people should apply to join the police force if they want access to such sensitive details of cases. I wouldn’t hold out much hope of them passing the psych though. I don’t know who they think they are but it’s time logic made a comeback. We don’t have a right to be told everything and knee jerk rage is tedious when its constant.

Richard Davies
Richard Davies
4 months ago
Reply to  Bethan

One of the best comments I’ve read on NationCymru!

John Ellis
John Ellis
4 months ago

‘Questions have been raised about why the identity of the teenager arrested over the Southport stabbings has not been made public.’

Because he’s under eighteen, and at this stage in the process that’s what the law, as it currently stands, requires. So the police, who arguably more than everyone else have to abide by the law, have no alternative but to decline to identify him.

Maybe there’s a case for changing that, but then that’s up to the legislators. A local police force can’t do it.

John Ellis
John Ellis
4 months ago
Reply to  John Ellis

Yesterday the judge ruled that his identity could be disclosed. The reasons which he gave in support of his decision – the fact that the accused will reach the age of 18 later this week and ipso facto lose that right to anonymity, coupled with the public interest in view of the street violence – seem to me to be incontestable.

Last edited 4 months ago by John Ellis

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