Children aged 10 to 13 facing criminal penalties in New South Wales are “overwhelmingly” from disadvantaged backgrounds and disproportionately Indigenous, according to a new report.
It comes amid debate over the minimum age of criminal responsibility, after the Victorian government reneged on a commitment to raise the age from 12 to 14. In NSW, children as young as 10 can be charged, convicted and incarcerated.
The report, released on Wednesday by the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (Bocsar), found more than half of all 10- to 13-year-olds facing criminal penalties in NSW courts had been the victim of violence and about a third had accessed specialist homelessness services.
Jonathon Hunyor, the chief executive of the Justice and Equity Centre, said the report “confirms that children are being criminalised for their disadvantage”.
“We should all be outraged that children who need support and stability are instead cycled through the criminal justice system,” he said.
Reducing unfair fines and over-policing from alcohol-free zones