Call for England’s minimum crime age to rise
The England-and-Wales Bar Council has published a report calling for the minimum age of criminal responsibility in the jurisdiction to be raised from ten to 14.
According to the England-and-Wales Gazette, Kirsty Brimelow KC (small picture) declared when she took over as bar chair that children in the justice system would be a high priority during her tenure and set up a working group to look at the minimum age of criminal responsibility.
After considering evidence that included scientific studies of brain development in adolescence, the group concluded that the minimum age must rise.
‘Profound shifts’
“The minimum age of criminal responsibility in England and Wales has remained unchanged for 60 years, despite the profound shifts in knowledge about children that is based on developmental neuroscience and psychology,” Brimelow stated.
“Our report does not diminish the need for intervention or protection of the public, and the conclusion is that criminalisation at such an early age is not an effective, proportionate, or just response,” she added.
The Gazette said that the England-and-Wales Law Society was backing the proposals.
“This would be an important step towards aligning the system with evidence on child development and ensuring more effective responses to children who do wrong,” it quoted President Mark Evans as saying.
UN recommends 14
The British government has committed to considering the bar’s report but has also said that any future decisions would have to be approached “with the utmost care”.
Scotland's threshold is 12, while the North is consulting on raising the threshold from ten.
In Ireland, the age of criminal responsibility is generally 12, with some exceptions. The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child recommends 14 as the minimum age.