Bulger killers' new IDs 'may not stay secret'
Thousands of pounds have already been spent on creating new identities for Jamie Bulger's killers Jon Venables and Robert Thompson .
They will have new social security numbers, bank accounts, ID cards and even birth certificates. New identities may also have to be created for close family members.
Keeping their real names secret once they are back in society will create unique problems for police and probation officers, and some fear the whole enterprise could put the public at risk.
The pair used false names while serving their sentences in local authority secure accommodation, and were reportedly moved around to different units to stop anyone guessing their true identities.
When free, they will be ‘‘on licence’’ forever and probation officers will be required to keep a close eye on them.
But probation service officials believe this will be difficult if officers do not know the true background of their crimes.
‘‘The chances of this whole thing falling apart are very high,’’ said Harry Fletcher of the probation officers’ union Napo.
‘‘You cannot expect a probation officer to supervise Venables or Thompson thinking they are someone else. It would be ludicrous.
‘‘He would have to be highly trained to spot any derivation in their characters because the worst thing that could happen is that they kill again.
‘‘And if he is privy to their real history, what if one of them starts a relationship with a girl? Does the officer step in and tell the woman who her boyfriend really is?
‘‘What if Venables or Thompson get picked up by the police or admitted to hospital, and the police do a criminal records check on him?
‘‘Will the file be flagged so that if someone makes an inquiry about one of them under their new identities the Home Office will be alerted?
‘‘If they get into trouble again under the new names how does the person dealing with them know who they really are?
‘‘There will have to be a significant number of people who will have to know their identities, and it will almost certainly leak out.’’
The Home Office does not have the power to allow Venables and Thompson to be released without being on a supervision order, added Mr Fletcher.
‘‘It is not going to be easy. It is fraught with difficulties.’’
The only similar case was that of Mary Bell, who was 11 years old when she was convicted in 1968 of the manslaughter of two children.
She managed for a long time to live unnoticed and under a new identity because her story was far less high-profile than that of the Bulger killers, Mr Fletcher added.
But Dee Warner, of pressure group Mothers Against Murder and Aggression, said of Thompson and Venables: ‘‘They should take their chances on the streets like every other murderer who is released - they don’t get cossetted like this.’’
