Community leaders across New South Wales have launched a series of videos calling on the state government to raise the age of criminal responsibility to 14 and invest in community-led support services.
Timed to coincide with the NSW Parliament’s first hearings for its Youth Justice Inquiry on Wednesday, the campaign — launched by Raise the Age NSW — features representatives from the Aboriginal Legal Service NSW (ALS), ANTAR, Change the Record, AbSec and other social and human rights groups, all posing the question: how can 10-year-olds be sent to prison?
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“The evidence is in,” Raise the Age NSW campaign coordinator Emily Mayo says. “The younger a child is when failing systems force them into contact with police, handcuffs, courts and prison cells, the more likely it is they will have further contact across their lifetime. We can and should do better.”
