The YouGov poll, commissioned by the Prison Reform Trust’s Out of Trouble campaign, also found the majority of those questioned do not want children to be sentenced to custody until 14 for non-violent crimes.
The poll comes in the same week Barnardo’s called for an increase in the age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 12 years old for all but the most serious crimes.
YouGov questioned 2,089 members of the public on their attitudes towards imprisoning children and the most effective ways of preventing them re-offending.
The accompanying report released by the trust, Punishing Disadvantage, profiles the experiences of 6,000 young people in custody who received custodial sentences or remands in the second half of 2008. It includes a more detailed examination of the backgrounds of 300 of the children.
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