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Thread - why is it so important that MPs #RaiseTheAge of criminal responsibility to 14.
1. Getting hunted down by police for a 'crime' at 10 years old is dangerous and harmful, and sets a tiny child up for a lifetime of interactions with police. https://www.raisetheage.org.au/changetherecord
1. Getting hunted down by police for a 'crime' at 10 years old is dangerous and harmful, and sets a tiny child up for a lifetime of interactions with police. https://www.raisetheage.org.au/changetherecord
It teaches tiny children that police are the enemy and it teaches police to look at tiny children as potential suspects and targets for arrest, not kids to be looked after.
This is why terrified kids get strip searched, thrown into paddy wagons and locked up in police cells.
This is why terrified kids get strip searched, thrown into paddy wagons and locked up in police cells.
2. Instead of giving children the chance to learn and grow, it traps them in the criminal legal system, institutionalises them and actively hurts them.
All the medical evidence shows that kids' brains aren't sufficiently developed <14 to understand consequences.
All the medical evidence shows that kids' brains aren't sufficiently developed <14 to understand consequences.
Arresting children and locking them up doesn't 'teach them a lesson' about their behaviour, it just teaches them that they belong in prisons which changes the trajectory of their entire lives.
Kids deserve to be given the chance to learn and grow and be supported.
Kids deserve to be given the chance to learn and grow and be supported.
3. It takes them away from the very things that help kids stay on track!
Arresting and locking up kids takes them away from what we call "protective factors" - things like school, friends, family, community and culture - which help them stay healthy and well.
Arresting and locking up kids takes them away from what we call "protective factors" - things like school, friends, family, community and culture - which help them stay healthy and well.
4. It's dangerous
Tragically and terribly, youth prisons are dangerous and often abusive places in this country. I have had too many clients who were locked in cells for days on end, denied education and manhandled by staff. We need to keep kids out of these places at all costs
Tragically and terribly, youth prisons are dangerous and often abusive places in this country. I have had too many clients who were locked in cells for days on end, denied education and manhandled by staff. We need to keep kids out of these places at all costs
5. It doesn't work. Recidivism rates are high because locking children up doesn't help. It makes it more likely that a child will have future contact with the criminal justice system - as well as more likely they'll struggle to find employment and die an early death.
6. It's discriminatory - 70% of these super young kids (10 - 14 years old) are Aboriginal children who are being thrown into prison cells. This isn't a coincidence, and condemns a whole cohort of young Blak people who deserve bright futures.
7. It's inhumane. I have never been so terrified that a child would die or be badly harmed than when I worked with kids in youth prisons in the NT. These are harmful, hellish places and we should do everything possible to protect kids from them. https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/aug/18/the-road-to-hell-where-children-are-left-to-fall-through-the-cracks
8. There are better ways that keep kids and the whole community safe by investing in community-driven programs, investing in schools to keep kids engaged, keeping families strong and together, and properly funding mental health care and support.
On 27 July 2020 Attorney Generals will meet and decide whether to raise the age of criminal responsibility from 10 years old to 14 years. ADD YOUR VOICE and call on them to do the right thing: https://www.raisetheage.org.au/changetherecord /end
