This was published 3 years ago
Children younger than 14 would avoid jail under Greens plan
Children younger than 14 would avoid going to jail for their crimes under proposed laws introduced by a crossbench MP.
Greens MP Michael Berkman introduced a private member’s bill on Wednesday to raise the age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 14.
Under the proposal, which would need the support of the Palaszczuk Labor government to become law, children younger than 14 who had committed crimes would be transitioned out of detention and into safe housing.
Children under 14 would be removed from watch houses and any proceedings or orders in place against them would end.
Offences committed before a child was 14 would be expunged from their criminal history, with fingerprints and DNA samples destroyed.
However, Attorney-General Shannon Fentiman previously confirmed there were “no plans to raise the age here in Queensland”, despite the issue being debated at Queensland Labor’s conference in June and federal Labor also considering it.
“Queensland is participating in discussions that are happening nationally,” Ms Fentiman said in August.
Mr Berkman said he was not proposing to ignore children’s problematic behaviour.
“My proposal is that we treat them like kids, not criminals, and we invest in solutions that work - not more prison cells,” he said.
“I’m calling on the government to implement and fully fund an alternative model of early intervention and prevention, and therapeutic responses for children under 14.
“Children do not belong in prison.”
Mr Berkman said an expert panel should be set up to refer young people to housing, support, healthcare and cultural programs, while children who continued to display serious behaviour could be referred to more intensive therapeutic interventions, such as drug or sex offending treatment.
Children who posed a serious threat of violent harm could be placed, as a last resort, under supervision in small therapeutic facilities with staff trained in trauma-informed practice.
“Around 130 children under 14 are sent to detention each year,” Mr Berkman said.
“One piece of good news is that children under 14 years old make up a relatively small proportion of the overall youth detention centre population - about 17 children on any given day of an average total of 200.”
Mr Berkman said people who argued raising the age would endanger the community failed to recognise that not only did children under 14 account for a small proportion of offences, but most crimes were not very serious or violent.
“Among children aged 10 to 14, around 55 per cent are theft, burglary and property-related crimes, while just over 20 per cent are acts intended to cause injury,” he said.
Mr Berkman said research suggested children tended to commit offences that were attention-seeking, unplanned and opportunistic.
Almost one in three young Queenslanders who came into contact with the criminal legal system had a parent who had been held in adult custody, 58 per cent had a diagnosed or suspected mental health or behavioural disorder and almost one in five were homeless or had unsuitable accommodation.
The UN Committee overseeing implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child has recommended states set a minimum age of criminal responsibility that is no lower than 14.
Mr Berkman said Queensland’s current age of 10 years old was an “international embarrassment”.