SMH: Why police can’t prove children like Harry committed serious crimes

Across Australia, no child under 10 can be charged with a crime.

In NSW, in the 10- to 13-year-old bracket where prosecutors must rebut doli incapax, cases with a proven outcome have fallen off a cliff, collapsing from 76 per cent in 2015-16 to 16 per cent in 2022-23.

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“It’s a distraction from the real issue,” says Jonathon Hunyor, chief executive of the Justice and Equity Centre, an independent law and policy advisory organisation.

“Why aren’t we providing services before children are putting themselves and the community in dangerous situations? Why do children need to act out to get the support they need?”

Hunyor said decades of research showed early contact with the criminal justice system “absolutely guaranteed” a higher likelihood of reoffending down the track.