How Territorians have reacted to NT government raising the age of criminal responsibility
Mixed reactions have flooded in to a landmark youth justice reform passed by parliament on Tuesday. Here’s what Territorians think about raising the age of criminal responsibility.
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Territory Labor’s landmark youth justice reforms, the first of their kind in Australia, have divided opinions.
The Fyles government raised the age of criminal responsibility to 12 on Tuesday night.
Set to be implemented in the second half of next year, offenders aged 10 and 11 will no longer be criminally charged and detained.
Instead, the government says it will invest in diversion and therapeutic programs for the children and their families.
The NT Council of Social Service (NTCOSS) has commended the reform.
“This is a step in the right direction and it is great to see the Northern Territory leading the country in this space,” NTCOSS chief executive Deborah Di Natale said.
“Children need to be supported to address their offending and locking them up is not the solution.
“It causes lifelong mental health issues.”
Since 2017, children aged 10 or 11 have represented only 1 per cent of children in detention, NTCOSS data indicates.
That cohort represents 3 per cent of children apprehended and 11 per cent of children entered into police diversion.
NTCOSS continues to advocate for the age of criminal responsibility be raised to 14.
However, the NT Police Association opposed the legislation passed on Tuesday.
“There are already mechanisms in place to keep low-level, first and second-time offenders out of the courtroom – and diversion programs for youth offenders,” NTPA senior vice-president Lisa Bayliss said.
“A 10-year-old isn’t going to court the first time they offend. A 10-year-old isn’t going to Don Dale the second, or third, time they offend.
“That will only happen when a youth offender has clocked up dozens – or more – charges and the offending has escalated.
“Now, 10 and 11-year-olds won’t be held responsible, no matter how many crimes they commit.
“No one wants to see young people locked up, but there is a community expectation that serious crimes are punished, and victims protected.
“All these changes will do is embolden youth offenders to continue committing violent crimes, without consequence.”
Change the Record, Australia’s leading First Nations-led justice coalition, has slammed the reform.
The organisation’s chairwoman Cheryl Axelby said the raise should have gone further to 14 years old.
“We are bitterly disappointed that the NT government has thrown away another opportunity to get very young children out of police and prison cells, and support them in community where they belong,” Ms Axelby said.
“(They have) chosen to kowtow to the pressure of the NT Police Association, rather than listen to the medical and child development experts who have been crystal clear that governments must raise the age to 14 as a bare minimum.”
The Australian Medical Association (AMA) agreed the reform did not go far enough.
“The health advice is clear, kids aged 12 and 13 should not be held criminally responsible,” Professor Steve Robson said.
“Our position is informed by medical evidence – jail is no place for children.
“It offers limited rehabilitation opportunities and has serious adverse impacts on child development and mental and emotional wellbeing.”
The AMA’s recommendation mirrors that of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child.
The Royal Commission into the Protection and Detention of Children in the Northern Territory, which was handed down five years ago, also recommended that children under the age of 14 only be detained if convicted of a violent and serious crime.
Several other stakeholders have agreed the reform was a step in the right direction.
“The cost of imprisoning one child costs the taxpayers roughly $4600 per day,” Northern Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency acting chief executive Mark Munnich said.
“The government needs to redirect these funds to better resource community-
led organisations and initiatives to provide holistic services to improve outcomes for disenfranchised children and their families.”
The NT’s acting Children’s Commissioner Nicole Hucks said “more meaningful responses” were needed to support children.
“A majority of the children finding themselves in detention have experienced trauma and grappled with living below the poverty line,” she said.
“More meaningful responses are needed to support children and their families to have their basic needs like housing and food security met.”
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Originally published as How Territorians have reacted to NT government raising the age of criminal responsibility
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