Southport - reporting restrictions

[mids2019]

So the attacker in Southport was a child (17) so will be not be reported on due to reporting restrictions. Due to proximity of the alleged attacked to adulthood and the severity of the crimes do you think in this case it is in the public interest to release at least some details of the alleged killer? Not releasing details fuels speculation that at a public level may not be helpful in my.opinion.

In addition I would think there may be a high chance the attacker had a severe mental illness so after the Nottingham attacks will the debate about personal responsibility for actions during psychosis be raised again?

Reporting restrictions will probably be lifted once he's convicted. They usually make exceptions for the worst crimes commited by children.

They have already released some details, and the same law applies to this perpetrator as any other of 17 or under. No doubt once they turn 18 we may then find out.

In the meantime... why do you want to know his name anyway? What good would it do?

We don’t need to know. Just because braying crowds want an excuse to riot isn’t a reason to release the details before the time is deemed right by those in the judicial system.

let’s focus on the lives lost and the hero’s who saved lives rather than this one individual who is in the hands of the legal system and needs to be left to rot.

When you say 'in the public interest', what do you mean, exactly?

How about rent-a-mob shut up, sit down and wait for the results of the police investigation? This shouldn’t be about them and their political agenda.

Why punish innocent people in Southport by rioting, damaging property and wasting police time?

That told em.

Gosh that was easy.

No. Its the law. All laws should be upheld.

Personally i think they should go further. Innocent until proven guilty so no naming until anyone is convicted.

Have they released the name of the man arrested with a knife in the town centre last night?

It's all over Twitter if you're desperate to know, plus all his familys details. Its literally just a name though and beyond satisfying your curiosity, it's meaningless beyond that.

They have released far more details than I'd have expected making it very easy to identify the person.

I am appalled at the actions of the rioters last night, most of whom seemed to have cone from outside the area.

Do you mean the police should say whether or not he’s black, Asian, Muslim - or whatever it is the EDL is baying for the blood of this week?

Or “don’t worry, it’s a white lad, we can all move on?”

He’s 17 and in custody. Unless and until convicted there is nothing else we need to know.

What happened is an absolute tragedy. Disgusting. Unthinkable.

However I feel pretty confident that the perpetrator must have been suffering from very serious mental health issues. If that's the case, there's no reason for his details to be released at this stage as his family may need protection from vigilantes.

If I'm wrong and it was a terrorist attack, or an attack for another reason, then perhaps there are public safety reasons why further details should be released or withheld.

The information is bound to be released in due course.

Apparently there was some level of lockdown in Banks last night, due to what was happening in Southport. And a meeting is planned in Liverpool at the weekend. I just hope no one else is hurt.

If the rioters won’t be told, then let’s put the new draconian anti-protest laws to good use and lock up the bastards for a few years.

Using the murder of children as an excuse to stir up racial hatred is absolutely vile.

Have any or all of the rioters been named yet?

I feel it is in the public interest, so we know who to shun.

I am actually from this area, and have a massive family scattered from Liverpool to Southport. One of my nieces, age 9, has a classmate who was there, but luckily was not hurt.

This place is very close knit. It took a very short amount of time to get the killers name, and other info on him from people in the community and share it on SM and WhatsApp. Whether this is false info, or they’ve actually got the right info, I think that having restrictions lifted, and getting the correct info out there can only calm it down. Otherwise, you’ll see a repeat and escalation of last night.

The mother of Elsie Dot Stancombe has asked for the violence in Southport to stop.

That poor woman has got enough to contend with without having to appeal for calm.

It's all over twitter. Found it in less than 30 seconds. That means the people rioting already know as well. I doubt official reporting would make a difference now.

Do you know, you may be on to something there...

No. The law is the law.

We can't start chopping and changing how the legal system works to placate thugs who are determined on rioting.

However I feel pretty confident that the perpetrator must have been suffering from very serious mental health issues. If that's the case, there's no reason for his details to be released at this stage as his family may need protection from vigilantes.

I can’t ever remember reading about a person with serious MH issues targeting little girls in a dance class. He wasn’t randomly walking down the street, attacking those he came across. He planned this. It was in a secluded place, down a cul de sac. Also, if he had MH issues, wouldn’t they have already said he’d been detained under the MH act.

I think it’s more likely he’s a disaffected young man, who has been radicalised.

I think we, the public, do need to know WHY he did this. We can’t just sit back and let this become just another thing that we reflect on during its anniversary.

Enough is enough.

This - I am usually a very liberal person but the events of last night were absolutely awful and those people need to be locked up.
Yes we have a democratic right to protest ( not sure what they had to protest about ) but inciting racial / any hatred is abhorrent and shows our society is becoming more and more divided by these criminals.

His family have probably needed police protection from the get-go. They will immediately have become a target for vigilantes.