Special reports

We have conducted a wide ranging survey on attitudes to the criminal justice system in Northern Ireland with our e-Panel, the group of viewers which we use to gauge opinions on subjects which matter to our audience.

Our e-panel consists of a cross-section of our society, with viewers from as young as 15 years old to those aged 75 and over. They are from all backgrounds and political persuasions.

We will be looking at the responses in detail over the course of this week but here are a few of the headline figures.

Overwhelmingly, our e-panel told us that they feel the criminal justice system is weighted in favour of criminals rather than their victims, with almost 80% agreeing with this statement.

In respect of repeat offenders, 95% believe that the sentences handed out should be influenced by the number of times a person has broken the law on previous occasions, and similarly, a massive 97% think that judges should be more reluctant to grant bail to a defendant who has already committed several crimes.

Just under a third of the panel agree that judges generally get sentencing correct and 80% think that when people are sent to prison, the regime allows for too many luxuries.

More than half the panel think that the minimum age that the minimum age for a custodial sentence should be less than 16 years old.

78% feel they should be notified by the authorities if a sex offender moves into their area, and 80 percent believe that electronic bugs and phone taps should be allowed as evidence in court cases.

For more views on crime and punishment, join us on BBC One just before 6.30pm all this week.