Age of criminal responsibility should be raised to 12, argues Barnardo's

It calls for the age of criminal responsibility in England and Wales to rise to 12 for all offences other than murder, attempted murder, manslaughter, rape and aggravated sexual assault.

"It is crucial that those 10- and 11-year-olds who commit the most grave crimes are taken to court," Barnardo’s chief executive Martin Narey said.

"Yet there is nothing to be gained from criminalising very young children for less serious offences and putting them through a court process they can barely fathom.

"In fact, the repercussions are a heightened chance of further offending, more victims and unnecessary cost to the taxpayer.

"This is not to suggest that these children should not face up to the consequences of their bad behaviour. There is a range of meaningful and effective interventions, involving the whole family, which can and should be employed."

In total, 5,671 children aged 10 and 11 were given a youth justice disposal in 2008 although only three of those children committed a crime serious enough to see them locked up. The vast majority, 5,007, were given a reprimand or final warning.

The report states that despite children of this age committing low-level crimes, once they enter the criminal justice system reoffending rates can be high.

Reoffending rates run at 45 per cent for those receiving a first-tier penalty such as a referral order, 68 per cent for those given a community order and 74 per cent for those sentenced to custody.

The report estimates £6m would have been saved in court appearances alone in 2008 if other approaches to addressing child crime had been used.

It argues that improved whole family support in a multi-agency setting, such as family intervention projects, have a much better chance of reducing reoffending.

The government has previously indicated that it will look into the issue of the age of criminal responsibility as part of a review of sentencing policy currently being carried out. The findings of the review are due to be published next month.

In a letter responding to calls made by crossbench peer Baroness Deech to raise the age of criminal responsibility and not hold trials of children in open adult courts, Lib Dem peer Lord McNally said concerns would be passed on to the Ministry of Justice for consideration.