In a historic move, the Australian Capital Territory has become the first jurisdiction in the country to raise the minimum age of criminal responsibility to 14 – a significant reform celebrated by legal advocates, health experts and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders.
From July 1, children under 14 in the ACT can no longer be charged, prosecuted, or imprisoned under the criminal legal system, except for a limited number of excluded offences.
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Chief executive of the Justice and Equity Centre Jonathon Hunyor told NITV that locking up children cruels their chances and takes them away from positive influences.
“What we do is place kids in a situation where they build criminal capital – they go to the university of crime,” he said.
“They get taught that they’re criminals and told that they’re criminals – and that’s exactly what we produce.
“So it’s very easy to talk tough and be all hairy-chested about being tough on crime, but the fact is, it’s not working, it’s never worked, and it’s never going to work.
“Unless we actually invest in kids, we invest in communities, we invest in solutions, we’re just saying the same stuff over and over again.”
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