The Children and Young Persons Act 1933 raised the minimum age for execution to eighteen, raised the age of criminal responsibility from seven to eight, included guidelines on the employment of school-age children, set a minimum working age of fourteen, and made it illegal for adults to sell cigarettes or other tobacco products to children under sixteen. The act is worded to ensure that adults and not children are responsible for enforcing it.
In 1932, 16-year-old, Harold Wilkins, was sentenced to death for murder, but the death sentence was commuted.
Some sections of the act concerning the employment of children are still in force today.
Sections 39 and 49 of the act remain in everyday use in order to protect the identity of juvenile defendants appearing in Courts in England and Wales.
Section 39 and 49: information for journalists[edit]
Sections 39 and 49 are used to protect the identity of children and young people (under age 18) who appear in court as a witness, victim or defendant. Journalists may not give the following about any such person:
Name
Address
School
Still or moving image
Any particulars likely to lead to their identification[1]
The differences between the sections are that Section 39 is discretionary, but section 49 is automatically given in the youth courts. However, the court may waive the provisions of section 49 in the following circumstances:
If it appropriate to avoid doing injustice to the accused; for example, if they need people to come forward to say the accused was at a meeting in London when the crime was committed in Liverpool, or they are using a defence of mistaken identity.
On application by or on behalf of the Director of Public Prosecutions, if the police need to trace someone who is accused of an offence that would be punishable by a maximum sentence of 14 years imprisonment or more if committed by an adult, or of a violent, sexual or terrorism offence. There is an unofficial defence to the Contempt of Court Act 1981 that allows for police appeals, which will not be prosecuted if done in reasonable terms.[citation needed]
If it is in the public interest to identify them, for example as a warning to others who may commit a similar offence.[citation needed] This was particularly used if an ASBO was issued against the offender, as the publicity was essential to its enforcement.[citation needed] (ASBOs were abolished and superseded in 2015.)
These only apply once proceedings are activated by an arrest or a summons issued.
