Tasmania Raising The Age Is A Good First Step, But Doesn’t Fully Protect Children Yet
"The government must commit to raising the age in full so that children are not just kept out of prison, but are kept out of the criminal legal system altogether."
Tasmania has committed to raising the minimum age of detention from 10 to 14 as part of a wider reform into its youth justice system.
While the move has been widely welcomed, advocates say earlier interventions are still needed to prevent kids entering the system in the first place, and note that the age of criminal responsibility — seperate from the age of incarceration — is still 10 years old.
“The Tasmanian announcement is exciting, but it only protects children from the harms of youth prison — not all the other harmful stages of the criminal legal system like contact with police, being placed under arrest, and being hauled before a court,” said group Raise the Age in a statement.
Additionally, amid the announcement last Wednesday, it was confirmed that police powers in Tasmania will still see children aged 10 and above be arrested, searched, and detained, according to NITV.
An ongoing inquiry into Ashley Youth Detention Centre near Deloraine in the state is also investigating allegations of sexual assault against children and teen detainees by over 50 former workers, in what has been described as “one of Australia’s worst abuse scandals“.
Last year, new Indigenous Affairs Minister Linda Burney said that Albanese Government believes 10 to be too young an age to face jail time.
The ACT Government also committed to raise the age last October, while the new South Australian Attorney General Kyam Maher said looking into the matter would be a priority for him, and his Northern Territory counterpart said the age of criminal responsibility will be raised during this government term.
“The government must commit to raising the age in full so that children are not just kept out of prison, but are kept out of the criminal legal system altogether,” said Raise the Age.
A petition by Amnesty International to raise the age nationwide has amassed nearly 100,000 signatures.
Photo Credit: Weston M/Unsplash