Scotland’s criminal age of responsibility should be raised as high as 16 to help safeguard a generation of children from falling into a vicious spiral of offending, prison and ruined lives. The criminal justice system, however, had little impact on changing patterns of behaviour for the better. Both academics say they have concluded that the age of criminal responsibility should be further raised to 15 “and ideally, 16”. The Scottish Government has committed to reviewing the age of criminal responsibility in the future, raising the possibility of it being further increased. Prof. McAra add: “For many, first contact with criminal justice system was described as being unsettling and anxiety inducing mostly because they didn’t know what to expect.

Source: The Herald August 15, 2022 05:37 UTC