Section 16 Of Children Essay
The age of criminal responsibility in England and Wales in ten years old. Section 16 of the Children and Young Persons Act 1963 states: “The age of criminal responsibility in England and Wales is ten years old. All children under this age are presumed to be doli incapax (incapable of committing a crime). Children between the age of ten and seventeen that are arrested are taken into court but instead of being tried at an adult court they’re dealt with by the youth court furthermore; their sentences are different to adults who are charged. Instead of prisons young offenders are sent to special secure centres. By law, eighteen year olds are treated as adults. If charged they are sent to prisons which holds eighteen to twenty-five year olds instead of being sent to full adult prisons.
Until 1999, there was a legal belief that children under the age of fourteen did not know the difference between right and wrong, meaning they were not capable of committing an offence. This was rebuttable if the prosecution could convince the court that the child who had committed the crime knew what they were doing was extremely wrong. Under section 34 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998, the doli incapax presumption was abolished hence why children aged ten to thirteen are treated the same as those aged …show more content…
The report called for the age of criminal responsibility to be raised from ten to twelve years old. The report made a list of recommendations such as; incorporate family and youth court to create a new family approach. Under section 37 of the Children’s Act 1989, it would give the youth court power to give permission to the authorities to investigate whether a child is vulnerable to major harm and under section 47 investigation under the Children’s Act – whether the authorities should interfere if the child’s welfare is at risk. This would then lead to welfare services that provide support to families to be
Until 1999, there was a legal belief that children under the age of fourteen did not know the difference between right and wrong, meaning they were not capable of committing an offence. This was rebuttable if the prosecution could convince the court that the child who had committed the crime knew what they were doing was extremely wrong. Under section 34 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998, the doli incapax presumption was abolished hence why children aged ten to thirteen are treated the same as those aged …show more content…
The report called for the age of criminal responsibility to be raised from ten to twelve years old. The report made a list of recommendations such as; incorporate family and youth court to create a new family approach. Under section 37 of the Children’s Act 1989, it would give the youth court power to give permission to the authorities to investigate whether a child is vulnerable to major harm and under section 47 investigation under the Children’s Act – whether the authorities should interfere if the child’s welfare is at risk. This would then lead to welfare services that provide support to families to be