Parole board chief Frances Nelson KC questions move to raise age of criminal responsibility in SA

One of the state’s most experienced legal figures has questioned the move to make kids aged 10-14 not legally responsible – saying she’s dealt with 14-year-old killers.

One of the most senior and respected figures in South Australia’s justice system has questioned moves to increase the age of criminal responsibility for children.

Longstanding Parole Board of SA chairwoman Frances Nelson KC believes there would be more benefit in examining why children are committing crime, rather than absolving them from any responsibility for their offending.

And she has echoed comments made by Police Commissioner Grant Stevens on Saturday, when he said an alternative framework for dealing with both repeat and serious youth offenders would need to be established if the age of criminal responsibility was raised from 10 to 14 years.

“I think you have to be a little careful because the approach seems to be that children under 14 would not be responsible for any crime,’’ Ms Nelson said.

“There are children under 14 who committed murder, I have dealt with at least two. One who killed a nurse at Kanmantoo was not yet 14 and he stabbed her 122 times and pleaded guilty to murder. It was premeditated, he wanted to kill someone.

Frances Nelson QC, head of the South Australian Parole Board, pictured at the Department for Correctional Services building in Flinders Street, Adelaide.

“If this legislation goes through, how do they intend to treat children who commit what would otherwise be an extremely serious crime like murder, robbery, violent assaults, sexual offences?

“I am counselling caution. What is the legislation trying to achieve? If it simply to absolve children under 14 of criminal responsibility, then there has to be some thought given to that category of child who commits what would otherwise be a serious crime.

“What are you going to do with the child, how will you treat the child?’’

Earlier this month Commissioner For Victims Rights Bronwyn Killmier and Police Association president Mark Carroll also questioned the move, with both expressing concerns at the likely effect on victims of crime and police resources when youths are apprehended committing a crime at night.

Ms Nelson said she felt the current debate was focusing on the wrong aspect of youth offending and it “would be much more productive if that level of energy were put into preventing children from committing crime in the first place’’.

“There is a growing violence amongst young people and I realise it is a difficult socio-economic problem, but without actually addressing that, there will be no effect on the crime rate,’’ she said.

“Governments should be dealing with the causes of crime, not just the effects after it has happened.’’

Ms Nelson said more work needed to be undertaken by Department for Child Protection and Department for Human Services in that area to assist at risk children and their families.

“And I think there needs to be serious work done on researching how children who grow up in dysfunctional families are likely to commit crime at an early age,’’ she said.

“When I look at a lot of prisoners who have offended, they are often first brought to the attention of authorities at a very early age.

“We see a large number of children who have come to the attention of authorities who are 10, 11 and 12 years old and they are all children who are a product of dysfunctional and deprived circumstances.’’