Lecture 7- Age and Crime
The age of criminal responsibility
In the UK the minimum age which criminal proceedings can be brought against
someone is age 10
Children below the age of 10 have a criminal protection called doli incapax which
means that they are incapable of evil
In 1993 the Children’s and Young Persons Act raised the age from 7 to 8
In 1963 the Children’s and Young Persons Act raised the age from 8 to 10
There have been many more attempts in the UK to get the age risen again, however,
the James Bulger case is always referred back to as the deciding argument
Raising the criminal age is not to say that children should not be accounted for, but
to be diverse them out of the CJS and deal with them in a different way
Ages of responsibility
Country Age of responsibility Country Age of responsibility
Austria 14 Latvia 14
Belgium 18 Luxembourg 18
Bulgaria 14 Netherlands 12
Czech Republic 15 Northern Ireland 10
Denmark 15 Norway 15
England/Wales 10 Scotland 12
Ireland 12 Spain 14
The Principle of doli incapcax
Until 1998, children aged 10-14 were criminally responsible but protect by doli incapax so
prosecution were required to prove ‘beyond reasonable doubt’ that a child aged 10014
knew what they were doing was ‘seriously wrong’.
When New Labour came into power, they pushed through the 1998 Crime and
Disorder act (s.34) and abolished the safeguard
Childhood, youth and adolescence
Ariès 1962-Historically children were seen as dispensible and a lot less attention was
paid to them. Worked, could drink, so before this, there weren’t many differences
between them and adults. Children were then seen as innocent and needed to be
protected and parental responsibility began.
o Childhood was invented in the 17th century
o ‘Adolescence’ invented in late 19th century
20th century- juvenile delinquency become more widely recognised- children began
being left alone while their parents went out to work, so many turned to
delinquency through boredom
Hall 1904- ‘Storm and Stress’ model of adolescence- problems arise in adolescence
due to the mental and physical changes which are happening within their bodies
Young people are the source of a lot of anxiety E.G. hoodies, antisocial behaviour- not
criminal behaviour but causes public anxiety
Riots- blamed on young people
, Pearson (1983)- long history of moral panics about the youth:
Victorian London garrotting
Muggings
Football hooliganism
Street gang
Pearson claims that myths caused by misleading statistics and fear of change cause harsh
crackdowns on young people. The public always believe that crime is getting worse and
often refer to the ‘golden age’ even when it is getting better.
The Age-Crime Curve
Identified by Quetelet 1831
Boys: 17-19 years old peak
Girls: 14-15 years old peak
May be due to the fact that girls mature more quickly than boys
Easily influenced by their peers at that age
Quetelet (1842) immature reasoning coupled with heightened strength and passion
Farrington (1986) lower parental controls and increased peer influence, later social
bonds increase such as employment, friends and family
Gottfredson and Hirschi (1990) self-control insufficiently developed in adolescence or
down to poor parenting
Pushing boundaries- testing the water
Youth are more generally over policed than older people so this could have an effect
on statistics
Youths may be more likely to be involved in certain behaviours or crimes which are
heavily policed
Doesn’t explain people who have long criminal careers throughout their lives
White collar crime would go the opposite way- only based on more street related
crime
The age of criminal responsibility
In the UK the minimum age which criminal proceedings can be brought against
someone is age 10
Children below the age of 10 have a criminal protection called doli incapax which
means that they are incapable of evil
In 1993 the Children’s and Young Persons Act raised the age from 7 to 8
In 1963 the Children’s and Young Persons Act raised the age from 8 to 10
There have been many more attempts in the UK to get the age risen again, however,
the James Bulger case is always referred back to as the deciding argument
Raising the criminal age is not to say that children should not be accounted for, but
to be diverse them out of the CJS and deal with them in a different way
Ages of responsibility
Country Age of responsibility Country Age of responsibility
Austria 14 Latvia 14
Belgium 18 Luxembourg 18
Bulgaria 14 Netherlands 12
Czech Republic 15 Northern Ireland 10
Denmark 15 Norway 15
England/Wales 10 Scotland 12
Ireland 12 Spain 14
The Principle of doli incapcax
Until 1998, children aged 10-14 were criminally responsible but protect by doli incapax so
prosecution were required to prove ‘beyond reasonable doubt’ that a child aged 10014
knew what they were doing was ‘seriously wrong’.
When New Labour came into power, they pushed through the 1998 Crime and
Disorder act (s.34) and abolished the safeguard
Childhood, youth and adolescence
Ariès 1962-Historically children were seen as dispensible and a lot less attention was
paid to them. Worked, could drink, so before this, there weren’t many differences
between them and adults. Children were then seen as innocent and needed to be
protected and parental responsibility began.
o Childhood was invented in the 17th century
o ‘Adolescence’ invented in late 19th century
20th century- juvenile delinquency become more widely recognised- children began
being left alone while their parents went out to work, so many turned to
delinquency through boredom
Hall 1904- ‘Storm and Stress’ model of adolescence- problems arise in adolescence
due to the mental and physical changes which are happening within their bodies
Young people are the source of a lot of anxiety E.G. hoodies, antisocial behaviour- not
criminal behaviour but causes public anxiety
Riots- blamed on young people
, Pearson (1983)- long history of moral panics about the youth:
Victorian London garrotting
Muggings
Football hooliganism
Street gang
Pearson claims that myths caused by misleading statistics and fear of change cause harsh
crackdowns on young people. The public always believe that crime is getting worse and
often refer to the ‘golden age’ even when it is getting better.
The Age-Crime Curve
Identified by Quetelet 1831
Boys: 17-19 years old peak
Girls: 14-15 years old peak
May be due to the fact that girls mature more quickly than boys
Easily influenced by their peers at that age
Quetelet (1842) immature reasoning coupled with heightened strength and passion
Farrington (1986) lower parental controls and increased peer influence, later social
bonds increase such as employment, friends and family
Gottfredson and Hirschi (1990) self-control insufficiently developed in adolescence or
down to poor parenting
Pushing boundaries- testing the water
Youth are more generally over policed than older people so this could have an effect
on statistics
Youths may be more likely to be involved in certain behaviours or crimes which are
heavily policed
Doesn’t explain people who have long criminal careers throughout their lives
White collar crime would go the opposite way- only based on more street related
crime
