Release date: Wednesday 14 August 2024
Link to report summary: The involvement of young people aged 10 to 13 years in the NSW criminal justice system
In NSW, the minimum age of criminal responsibility is 10 years of age which means that a child aged under 10 years cannot be found guilty of a criminal offence. In recent years there have been discussions across Australia about raising the minimum age of criminal responsibility to 12 or 14 years. Victoria, the ACT, and the Northern Territory have each made commitments to do this. A new report by the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR) examines interactions between young people aged 10 to 13 years with the NSW criminal justice system in 2023. The study finds that most 10- to 13-year-old children who appear in court are from disadvantaged backgrounds; the majority have been victims of violence, have had significant contact with the child protection system, and have a parent with a history of offending. Aboriginal children and children living in regional and remote NSW are disproportionately affected.
Executive Director of the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research, Jackie Fitzgerald, says "While the number of young people offending at a very young age is small, these children have overwhelmingly experienced significant childhood trauma and disadvantage prior to their contact with the justice system. The challenge is to identify an appropriate response to their offending behaviours that can keep both the child and the community safe, while attempting to address the longer-term complex needs of these young people and prevent future offending."
For comment please contact:
Jackie Fitzgerald, Executive Director, NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics & Research,
Phone: +61 423 139 687
Email: jackie.fitzgerald@justice.nsw.gov.au
*Key findings - interactions with police:
- In 2023, the NSW Police Force initiated 4662 legal proceedings against young people aged 10 to 13 years.
- 63% of those police initiated legal proceedings were formal court diversions under the Young Offenders Act 1997 (NSW). The most common method of diversion was a caution (36%), followed by a warning (21%) and youth justice conference (6%).
- The most common offences were theft (36%), violence (30%), disorderly conduct (12%, mostly trespass) and offences against justice procedures (10%, mostly breach of bail).
- There were 2144 distinct young people aged under 14 years who were legally proceeded against by the NSW Police Force on at least one occasion in 2023. Of these, 61% were aged 13 years, 28% were aged 12, 8% were aged 11 and 3% were aged 10 years.
- 41% of young people aged under 14 years who were legally proceeded against by police at least once in 2023, were Aboriginal.
- The rate of legal proceedings against young people under 14 years of age was more than three times as high in regional/remote/very remote areas compared with major cities (1171.6 per 100,000 population vs 371.2 per 100,000 population).
*Key findings - interactions with courts:
- In 2023, there were 719 court appearances finalised in the NSW Children's Court involving defendants who were under 14 years of age at the time of the offence.
- Of the 718 finalisations with known outcomes, 20% (141 finalisations) had at least one proven offence, a quarter were found not guilty of any offences (25%) and half (53% or 377 finalisations) were resolved by all charges being withdrawn by the prosecution.
- The most common 'penalty' imposed for a proven court appearance was a Court Dismissal, which includes court-ordered cautions or Youth Justice Conferences (50% or 70 finalisations). 10 (7%) finalisations resulted in a custodial penalty.
*Key findings - interactions with youth detention:
- In 2023, 171 distinct young people under the age of 14 experienced at least one episode of youth detention. Of these young people, two were aged 10 years; eight were 11 years; 35 were 12 years and 126 were 13 years old.
- 60% of this youth detention cohort were Aboriginal (102 Aboriginal young people aged 10 to 13 years).
- All these young people were received into detention on remand.
- Most custodial episodes for young people aged under 14 years of age were for 24 hours or less (73%).
*Key findings – adverse childhood experiences of young people aged 10 to 13 years with a court appearance
- 82% had been identified in a child protection report as at risk of significant harm (ROSH); 60% had received 10 or more ROSH reports.
- 1 in 4 (24%) had been in Out of Home Care
- More than a third (37%) had accessed specialist homelessness services.
- 56% had been recorded by NSW Police as victim of violence
- 66% had a parent who had appeared in court and 40% had a parent who had been in custody