Criminalising young children does not prevent crime or make communities safer. While this is often misunderstood, the evidence is clear.

Criminalising children teaches them all the wrong lessons and exposes them to all the wrong things.

Experts in children’s health tell us that locking children up makes things worse because it harms their development. 

We want children to learn and take responsibility for their actions: we must face the facts that treating them like criminals does not achieve this. 

Research prepared for Australia’s national, state and territory Attorneys-General found: 

• Involvement with the criminal justice system is ‘criminogenic’ – it causes crime. 
• Raising the age and providing support that addresses the causes of offending behaviour would achieve better outcomes for children and promote community safety. 
• Investing in more services for children instead of criminal justice approaches is more cost-effective. 

The United Nations recommends at least 14 as the minimum age of criminal responsibility. 

Rwanda, Argentina, China, Korea, Laos, Mongolia, Philippines, Timor-Leste, Vietnam, Albania, Austria, Poland, Sweden, Italy, Ukraine, Germany are just some of the countries who have a minimum age of criminal responsibility of at least 14 without exception. 

We can do better for children and communities by being guided by evidence and: 

• Investing in services in our communities that prevent crime from the start. 
• Funding targeted services and interventions that help children learn to be accountable. 
• Resourcing and supporting Aboriginal Community-Controlled Organisations to provide local responses for First Nations young people. 
• Raising the age of criminal responsibility to at least 14 without exception.