95bFM Calls to raise the minimum age of criminal responsibility from 10 to at least 14
22 August, 2022
By Stella Huggins
Lisa Woods, Campaigns Director for Amnesty International Aotearoa New Zealand says we are noticeably out of step with our international peers and human rights recommendations regarding the age at which a person can be prosecuted for committing a crime. Photo: Canva.
Amnesty International Aotearoa is calling on the government to raise the minimum age of criminal responsibility from 10 to at least 14 years old.
The age of criminal responsibility is the age at which a person can be prosecuted for committing a crime. In Aotearoa, this age is currently set at 10 years old for the most serious offences.
Lisa Woods, Campaigns Director for Amnesty International Aotearoa New Zealand, told 95bFM's The Wire that this is one of the many changes needed to improve Aotearoa's youth justice system.
Woods argued that we are using the criminal justice system to respond to issues caused by, for example, trauma and a lack of health and mental health support.
"When a child does something seriously wrong, it is often because they have been seriously let down by society."
"Instead of solving problems caused by a lack of resources and services, our current laws are funneling children into a system that can trap them for the rest of their lives."
In 2019, the United Nations updated its recommendations, saying countries should set the age of criminal liability at 14, or older.
Woods said the global average age of criminal responsibility is just under 12, adding that states in Australia are looking at raising their age and that there are already countries such as Germany that use the age of 14.
"Aotearoa New Zealand is now noticeably out of step with our international peers and with human rights recommendations."
Amnesty International has launched a petition to change the age to 12 immediately and eventually raise the age to at least 14.
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