Today’s adoption of 12 years as Victoria’s minimum age of criminal responsibility is an important step in turning children and young people away from the justice system but needs to be raised to 14 to achieve the most benefit, according to the Commission for Children and Young People.
‘Raising the age to 12 is a start, but we know that, for children under 14, criminal sanctions, youth detention, only push them towards more serious offending and adult crime,’ said Meena Singh, Victoria’s Acting Principal Commissioner for Children and Young People, today.
‘We know from listening to children and young people with experience of the justice system that it’s crucial we tackle the barriers to inclusion, economic and social, that push some of them to become involved in crime. This means identifying educational needs early and responding appropriately; supporting children and young people with social and emotional wellbeing services; ensuring they are safe in their homes with their basic needs met.
‘We also need to respond to their experiences of harm and trauma, as too many children and young people in the criminal justice system have been victims of crime first.
‘Raising the age to 12, and ideally to 14, does not mean we forget about accountability, or ignore the undeniable impact on victims. Instead, it is a recognition that serious offenders don’t spring from nowhere – they are made over years by complex factors that impact on them from a young age when they are denied the supports that might have turned them away from the justice system in the first place,’ Commissioner Singh said.
Commissioner Singh said the cumulative evidence to support raising the age to 14 was so overwhelming that it could not be sensibly contested, having been variously advanced by legal and medical academics, advocates, the United Nations, the Yoorrook Justice Commission, and even the commissioned research of the Commonwealth’s own Standing Council of Attorneys-General.
‘Governments need to invest in programs to the level where they can be effective to meet the needs of children and young people, and boost community safety. We know, for example, that Victoria’s violence reduction units modelled on work in Scotland are effective – these must be funded properly to get the job done,’ Commissioner Singh said.
The Commissioner noted widespread cuts to community-led early intervention and prevention programs that were particularly effective in diverting young people away from the path of offending at an early stage.
‘We know what happens when we pursue policies that fail to tackle the root causes of crime and deny young people the early support they need – more young people are likely to begin offending, often driven by economic need, then progress to more serious offending.
‘That’s not going to help young people achieve their potential, and it’s not going to help community safety. It’s time we acted on the evidence of what works,’ Commissioner Singh said.
‘Graduated and evidence-based responses that correspond to the developmental stages and types of offending stand the best chance of preventing the criminalisation of young people and making the community safer. We need to work both preventatively and responsively with meaningful interventions, recognising that the families of children and young people will also need assistance,’ Commissioner Singh concluded.
Raising the minimum age of criminal responsibility to 14 without exceptions was recommendation 8 of the Commission’s 2021 inquiry, Our youth, our way.
The Commission’s Criminal justice system inquiry, looking at the experiences of children under 14, will report in 2026.
Media contact:
Darren Lewin-Hill
0437 046 360