1/A child @10 does not fully understand consequences in the same way as an adult. They are rigid in understanding right & wrong & driven by external fear of punishment. Criminalise them @ this developmental stage & risk moral reasoning ability stagnating @ that level 1/7

This means they learn to avoid punishment (e.g. becoming better at
evading law enforcement) rather than developing a greater sense of moral reasoning based
on an internal working model of right and wrong 2/7
#RaiseTheAge

They also learn not to rely on close attachments for their emotional needs before they have developed fully as adults. This is significantly damaging as secure attachment bonds with families & parents is strongly linked with positive mental health outcomes. 3/7
#RaiseTheAge

4/At this age, children thrive on their worlds being predictable. That the love and
support of primary attachments are there in a predictable and consistent way. How a child reconciles this loss is often tied in with their developmental stage. 4/7
#RaiseTheAge

5/ Primarily they need to make meaning of the loss. This occurs by blaming others or
internalising blame. Either way you develop in children the idea that you can’t rely on anyone to consistently love or support you. 5/7
#RaiseTheAge

Or children develop a sense of ‘self-loathing’-often consistent with the personality variables of those who
have ‘nothing to lose’ and therefore fail to fear anything anymore, including prison.6/7
#RaiseTheAge

The strongest predictor of future criminality is the normalisation of criminality through an early prison sentence. This is not about being “soft” on crime. This is about using the best evidence available to us to be PREVENTATIVE of crime 7/7
#RaiseTheAge