YES - Frances Crook, director, The Howard League for Penal Reform
The age of criminal responsibility should be raised to at least 12. In Italy and Germany the age at which a child is criminally liable is 14, and in Spain and Portugal it is 16.
We criminalise young children in England - elsewhere welfare agencies are called in to examine what is causing the child's behaviour and to address those causes. A child who commits a crime needs support, not prison. We should fight for every child's future, not write off our young people to a life behind bars.
If 10-year-olds do not have the understanding to sit in a jury, why do people think they are mature enough to stand in the dock?
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