NT Victims of Crime says lowering the age of criminal responsibility a ‘backwards step’

The Country Liberal Party will urgently pass a range of law and order reforms when parliament sits next week. Here’s the one that has victims of crime worried.

Victims of Crime NT says lowering the age of criminal responsibility is a backwards step.

Lowering the age of criminal responsibility is a backwards step amid many positive law reforms, according to the group representing victims of crime in the NT, who warn there can be no lasting benefits to victims until much more is done to stop young people being pushed into offending.

The Country Liberal Party will urgently pass a range of law and order reforms when parliament sits next week.

That includes introducing stand-alone offences for ram raids and “posting and boasting”, along with expanded police wanding powers and presumption of no bail for more crimes under the banner of Declan’s Law.

Victims of Crime NT chief executive officer Gerard McGeough. Picture: Supplied.

Victims of Crime NT backed many of the reforms, but said long term change could only be achieved with stronger investment in the root causes of crime.

Chief executive Gerard McGeough said the biggest problem the government faced in its reform agenda was lowering the age of criminal responsibility from 12 to 10, calling it “a backwards step”.

“There are young people in the Territory committing horrible crimes and I don’t have an answer for that, but the evidence is the evidence: the younger that someone engages with the justice system, the higher the probability they will continue to be engaged in criminal activity.”

Mr McGeough also warned there was a “difficult balance” in bail reform.

“We know the courts get it wrong sometimes, but a presumption of no bail removes the judge’s ability to make an informed decision, and the point where we as a community start impinging on the powers of the courts is a slippery slope,” he said.

Mr McGeough said higher visibility policing had proven to help reduce anti-social behaviour in the NT, and more boots on the ground could reduce the necessity of measures such as wanding, as well as reduce pressure on individual officers doing “a goddamn tough job”.

He also supported the move to outlaw videos bragging about crimes on social media.

“We’d like posting and boasting to also recognise the impact on victims who are seeing that crime splashed online – how it feels to see a video of your car squealing down the street or bashed up beyond repair.”

Independent Johnston MLA Justine Davis. Picture: Supplied.

Independent MLA Justine Davis said she had “significant concerns” about the unintended consequences of the CLPs law and order reforms, but could not properly comment without more details.

The CLP is yet to say how many Bills it plans to push through on urgency next week, but has promised an “enormous” reform agenda to be introduced, debated and passed in the first sittings.

“A properly functioning democracy needs time to research, debate, consult and consider changes to our laws to ensure that they achieve their aims,” Ms Davis said.

“The CLP do have a mandate to keep all Territorians safe, and to urgently fix the root causes of crime. But we know these changes won’t fix crime because that is what all the evidence shows us.”

Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro said her government was delivering on its election mandate.

She called on “political commentators” critiquing the CLP’s plan to “be part of the solution, not part of the problem”.

“What Labor was doing wasn’t working, and people can come out and throw stones at the CLP all they like – thousands of Territorians have voted emphatically for change.”

Originally published as NT Victims of Crime says lowering the age of criminal responsibility a ‘backwards step’