By RUDI MAXWELL

Research from the Australian Institute of Criminology supports calls from Indigenous and human rights groups to raise the age of criminal responsibility to 14.

SENTENCE STRUCTURE

* The minimum age of criminal responsibility is the youngest a person can be charged with a criminal offence

* In 2019 the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child recommended all countries increase the minimum age of criminal responsibility to at least 14, specifically urging the Australian government to raise it from 10

* On August 1, 2023, the NT became the first Australian jurisdiction to raise the age of criminal liability from 10 to 12, followed by the ACT in November

* The principle of doli incapax (incapable of evil) requires that, to be held responsible for offending, a child must understand that their actions are seriously wrong rather than merely naughty or mischievous

* Nationally, children aged 10 to 13 years comprise around one-fifth of kids proceeded against by police, and seven per cent of those supervised by youth justice

* There are substantial levels of victimisation among younger children with alleged offending, with half already experiencing a prior intervention order, mostly as complainants/victim-survivors

* Most alleged and proven offending among children aged 10 to 13 relates to property offences, while around one-third relates to offences against the person

* The alleged and proven offending of 10-year-olds is less likely to be violent in nature compared to that of 12 and 13-year-olds, and more often relates to property charges such as property damage or burglary/unlawful entry with intent

* Most alleged offending was non-violent (71 per cent), particularly among 10-year-olds (82 per cent)

* Most matters did not proceed to court (80 per cent), with more than half (55 per cent) receiving police cautions

* Of matters proceeding to court, 37 per cent were struck out or dismissed, and a further 53 per cent had outcomes not involving youth justice supervision

* While 13.7 per cent of the overall sample of children 10-13 were Indigenous, those whose matters proceeded to children’s court were significantly more likely to be First Nations than those whose matters did not (21.3 per cent vs 11.8 per cent)

Source: Australian Institute of Criminology