NEWS: NT commits to raising the age to 12
The Northern Territory has announced it will introduce legislation to raise the age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 12 years. This is a step in the right direction to divert children away from the justice system and stay connected with families and communities. Jesuit Social Services has long advocated, along with many others, that the age of criminal responsibility be raised to 14 years. This announcement does, however, provide a renewed opportunity for all states and territories to immediately commit to raising the age to 14, in line with expert medical evidence and international standards. Jesuit Social Services also calls on the NT Government to implement the Royal Commission’s recommendation that no child under 14 years be incarcerated.
The age of criminal responsibility
In every state and territory in Australia, children as young as 10 can be arrested, tried, and imprisoned. But we know locking away young children, and removing them from their families and communities, doesn’t work: it doesn’t reduce crime, and early involvement with the criminal justice system can cause irreparable harm to children’s health, wellbeing, and potential – as well as increasing a child’s risk of future reoffending.
Medical experts have long called for an increase to the minimum age of criminal responsibility. Children under the age of 14 are undergoing significant growth and development, which means that they may not have the required capacity to be criminally responsible – and are still cognitively under-developed in areas like impulsivity, reasoning, and consequential thinking. The United Nations recommends a minimum age of 14 – and in 2021, more than 120 of its member countries recommended Australia improve our human rights record by raising the age of criminal responsibility.
How do we best respond to young people in trouble?
Youth crime, and responding effectively when young people get into trouble, can be a contentious topic, with varying viewpoints. But when it comes down to it, everyone wants the same thing: less crime, fewer victims, and all children receiving the support they need to be accountable for their actions and, ultimately, flourish and reach their potential. To achieve this, we should look at the evidence of what works.
Jesuit Social Services – the organisation behind Worth A Second Chance – has published a comprehensive plan, based on extensive Australian and international psychological, social and criminological research, which shows that we can hold children more effectively to account for their actions, prevent further anti-social behaviour, and better protect the wider community if we raise the age of criminal responsibility.
We’ve also conducted research in Victoria that found children who come into contact with the justice system at a younger age are more likely to commit multiple offences. Keeping children away from the justice system – including through raising the age of criminal responsibility – is one way we can reduce crime, and ensure children have the therapeutic support they need to address the root causes of their offending and choose a different path.
Progress in the Northern Territory
The Northern Territory’s decision to raise the age from 10 to 12 is a welcome first step towards ensuring more young children are supported and accountable in community and with family, not detention.
While it’s not the minimum age of 14 we advocate for (and will continue to advocate for), importantly, it’s following the recommendation of the Royal Commission into the Protection and Detention of Children in the Northern Territory.
In 2016, the Northern Territory’s youth justice system was thrust in the national spotlight with revelations about the poor treatment of detained children, which led to the establishment of the Commission. One of its recommendations was to legislate to raise the age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 12, and ensure that no child under the age of 14 is incarcerated.
We’re pleased to see the Northern Territory Government announce it will legislate to follow the recommendation to raise the age of criminal responsibility to 12. Raising the age of criminal responsibility is one step towards a more fair, effective, and humane youth justice system, which can allow more children to reach their potential. We congratulate Attorney-General and Minister for Justice the Honourable Chansey Paech for driving these reforms and the NT Government for responding with this positive first step, repeat our call for no child under the age of 14 is incarcerated (in line with the Royal Commission’s recommendation), and continue pushing for a minimum age of criminal responsibility across all states and territories of 14 years.