Thread: Scotland Plans to Raise Age of Criminal Responsibility

Plans to raise the age of criminal responsibility in Scotland - at present the second lowest in Europe - received widespread backing yesterday.

Children's charities, social workers and the Scottish Police Federation welcomed the news that Scottish Ministers are to increase the age at which children are deemed criminally competent from 8 to 12 or 14.

The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) has recommended that the age in Scotland should be raised considerably and Ministers are understood to accept that a change in the law is necessary.

At present only the Republic of Ireland, at 7 , has a lower age of criminal responsibility. In England and Wales the minimum age is 10, in France it is 13 and in Spain 16.

TimesOnline

in France it is 13 and in Spain 16.

I can`t accept that a person has to be 13 or 16 before they know right from wrong! :rolleyes:

This is a very tricky one, I think children mature at different ages, some are streetwise at 9-10 while some teenagers are still like a 10 - 11 year old.

True, but even a very young child knows that it`s wrong to take someone`s life, stab someone and so on.

The courts can always take age and maturity into consideration. But, for the law to actually say that a person in their teens can`t be held accountable for their behaviour is criminal in itself in my view.

well for me atleast 16 but I thinks it's 14 in germany