Raising the Age to 12 is not enough, says peak body

The Centre for Excellence in Child and Family Welfare joins medical, legal, and community advocates in expressing disappointment at the Victorian Government’s decision to drop plans to raise the minimum age of criminal responsibility to 14 by 2027.

The Youth Justice Bill before the Victorian Legislative Council this week will raise the age of criminal responsibility to 12 by 2025 but the decision to no longer support raising the age to 14 is inconsistent with international evidence and the recommendations of the United Nations.

The Centre’s Acting CEO, Dr Michele Lonsdale, says raising the age of criminal responsibility to 12 years old is a critical first step in reducing the harm caused by criminalising children and young people with complex vulnerabilities.

“Children as young as 10 years old in Victoria have been charged and held in the youth justice system. There is a strong body of international research showing the harm done to children’s development and life trajectories – and the social and economic cost to the community – when the threshold for criminalisation is so low.

“While we welcome the Government’s commitment to raising the age of criminal responsibility to 12, we must not stop at 12. Raising the age to 14 means we can work with these children to address the factors which have contributed to their criminal behaviour, stop them from becoming hardened criminals, and give them a real chance at turning their lives around,” she says.

Dr Lonsdale says such early intervention would help address community concerns around safety and escalation of violent behaviours among children in their early and mid-teens.

“Raising the age doesn’t mean we are letting children off from the consequences of their behaviour; rather, it ensures they face more appropriate and constructive consequences which take into account their age, history of trauma and availability of family and community support.”

“Ultimately, these are still children who have been led to criminal behaviour through circumstances that are completely outside of their control,” she says.

Early intervention

Dr Lonsdale says there is an need for appropriate investment in early intervention services. In Victoria, 87 percent of children aged 10 to 13 years had contact with Child Protection in the five years prior to their first youth justice supervision, according to AIHW data.

“We have already missed opportunities to intervene before these children come in contact with police. We can potentially prevent further criminal behaviour by bringing these very young offenders, their friends, siblings, and families into community-based support services.”

“Punitive processes for dealing with young offenders are designed to punish, similar to the adult system, but we need to look beyond the short-term punitive response and at what the evidence says works best in keeping children and communities safe,” says Dr Lonsdale.

There are many programs which have been successful in reducing the number of children and young people in youth justice detention.

“Instead of entrenching 12 and 13-year-olds in the criminal justice system we need to keep investing in services that keep them connected to culture and community, to education and health services, and ensure they have access to the support they need,” she says.

“We strongly support raising the age of criminal responsibility to 14 with appropriate evidence-led support in place. This is more likely to be effective in keeping young people and the broader community safe than criminalising children and incarcerating them.”

Links

• Read the Centre’s response to the Youth Justice Bill 2024
• Read the Smart Justice for Young People joint statement
• View AIHW Youth Justice In Australia 2022-23 Report
• Read the Youth Justice Bill 2024 Bill Brief