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LCA, medical experts team up to advocate for raising of age of criminal responsibility
The Law Council of Australia and Australian Medical Association have called on governments across Australia to increase the minimum age of criminal responsibility to 14.
Jerome Doraisamy
In a joint statement, LCA and AMA are demanding action on the “national tragedy” of jailing children as young as 10 years old.
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The statement notes that the “arrest, detention, or imprisonment of a child should be used only as a measure of last resort and should only occur for the shortest appropriate period of time”.
“Prison should not be a rite of passage for any child. Children who are forced into contact with the criminal justice system at a young age are less likely to finish school or find a job and are more likely to die an early death,” the two bodies proclaimed.
“Raising the age to 14 would remove the need for courts to consider the complex ‘doli incapax’ doctrine, under which anyone aged between 10-14 cannot be held responsible for a crime if they do not understand their behaviour is seriously wrong.”
Law Council president Arthur Moses SC said that raising the minimum age of criminal responsibility would bring Australia in line with international human rights standards as well as ensure that Australia’s response to some of our most vulnerable children is based on health and welfare needs.
“It will maximise their chances of living productive and happy lives,” he said.
Moreover, the minimum age of criminal responsibility has a disproportionate impact on First Nation children, he added.
“Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people are at least 23 times more likely to be in detention than non-Indigenous young people. Early contact with the criminal justice system increases the chances of reincarceration, leading to an almost-inevitable progression to the adult corrections system. It does not make communities safer,” Mr Moses said.
“The attorneys-general know this is the case. It is time that they showed some courage and leadership to implement these changes. There should be a bipartisan approach to this pressing issue by our politicians. Our children should not be used as political footballs in a law and order auction.
“Very serious offences are rarely perpetrated by children. Moreover, more than half of children in detention are unsentenced, being either detained by police prior to court or on remand awaiting trial or sentencing.”
AMA President Dr Tony Bartone, added that these children are often the victims of abuse and neglect, and many have mental health conditions, cognitive impairments, and other significant challenges.
“Raising the age of criminal responsibility will prevent the unnecessary criminalisation of vulnerable children,” he argued.
“The AMA views the incarceration of children as unacceptable. Most children in prison come from backgrounds that are disadvantaged. These children often experience violence, abuse, disability, homelessness, and drug or alcohol misuse.
“Criminalising the behaviour of young and vulnerable children creates a vicious cycle of disadvantage and forces children to become entrenched in the criminal justice system.
“The AMA wants the Commonwealth and state and territory governments to support developmentally and culturally appropriate health, education, and rehabilitative-based alternatives to the criminal justice system.”
