Criminal Bar Association chair calls for rise in age of criminal responsibility

9 June 2010 1 min read Ross Watson Youth Justice

The chairman of the Criminal Bar Association has called for the age of criminal responsibility to be raised to avoid children being prosecuted for crimes they are too immature to understand.

In an interview with the Daily Telegraph, Paul Mendelle QC said the current age of criminal responsibility should be raised from 10 to 14.

"We have almost the lowest age of criminal responsibility in Europe and I suspect one of the lowest in the world," he said. "Ten is awfully young. A child of 10 can know he or she is doing something wrong and not always appreciate it is criminally wrong."

Mendelle called for a return to the previous system, where children aged 10 to 14 were not criminally responsible unless the prosecution could demonstrate they knew their actions were criminally wrong.

Register Now to Continue Reading

Thank you for visiting Children & Young People Now and making use of our archive of more than 60,000 expert features, topics hubs, case studies and policy updates. Why not register today and enjoy the following great benefits: