Australia needs to stop locking up 10-yearold children. Raising the age is the right thing to do
At the age of 10, a child loses four baby teeth a year, can name the months of the year in order and has been given a “pen licence”.
In Australia, a 10-year-old can also be arrested by police, remanded in custody, convicted by the courts and imprisoned.
On Wednesday, the ACT has taken another step towards raising the age of criminal responsibility from 10 years old, with the release of a discussion paper that lays out the basis for the change and seeks community views on exactly how this change should work.
We have a critical and historic opportunity to change the way we treat vulnerable and marginalised children.
When children commit crimes, it is an anomaly. Something is wrong. Children don’t commit crimes because they are evil people. A child who commits a criminal act has, overwhelmingly, arrived at that point through trauma, mental health issues, abuse, neglect or disability.
Ignoring this history and addressing the child’s behaviour, out of context, through the criminal justice system does not function as a deterrent. Instead, it sets their trajectory towards future offending.
Locking children up is ineffective as a crime prevention measure.
In fact, the strongest predictor of future criminality is the “normalisation” of criminality via an early prison sentence.
The ACT government’s commitment to raising the minimum age of criminal responsibility began with a motion I moved in the assembly to raise the age to 14, followed by an ACT Greens election commitment in 2020. It is now in the parliamentary and governing agreement formed between the Greens and Labor.
The commitment to raise the age is a recognition of the evidence from stakeholders in fields such as psychology, paediatrics, social work, child protection, mental health, disability and forensic medicine.
It’s also in line with the position of the United Nations committee on the rights of the child.
Changing the law is not enough, however. There’s a lot of work that comes before and after that.
Before new legislation comes into effect, we need to make sure that the right alternative systems are in place.
To prevent and discontinue harmful behaviour, there still needs to be a system to address these causes, even when we acknowledge that system cannot be prison.
We know that we must give appropriate attention to safeguarding the community. We also know that we must ensure no child is left unsupported.
We are already working to identify what restorative and therapeutic services are available to provide this support and accountability, as well as what gaps need to be filled.
There are some difficult questions to explore, and we know that addressing childhood trauma and abuse will not be a quick fix, either in individual cases or on the wider societal level.
We will need strong avenues for restorative justice and supporting the rights of victims.
We will need close coordination between different support services, police and the health system.
We have some technical legal challenges to solve, such as the approach to children who have already been sentenced as 10 or 12-year-olds, and whether historical convictions should be “extinguished”.
We’re looking for informed answers on these and dozens more questions, to ensure the ACT’s scheme succeeds for the community and its at-risk kids.
We dare to hope that by leading the way, we will show that this change is not only possible but is worth all the hard thought going into it.
The evidence shows that raising the age is the right thing to do, and we’re determined to do it.
The ACT government will approach this problem with positivity and a clear plan. We hope our experience will pave the way for the rest of Australia.