States and territories in Australia have faced pressure to raise the criminal responsibility age from 10 to 14, in accordance with UN recommendations and other developed nations.
The NT was the first jurisdiction to raise it to 12 last year, but the newly elected Country Liberal Party administration in August has stated that a reversal is required to lower the rates of juvenile criminality.
Despite doctors, human rights organizations, and Indigenous communities contesting that reasoning, it has maintained that raising the age back to 10 will eventually safeguard children.
They claim that the study shows the rules will disproportionately affect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and won’t lower crime.
Nearly all of the children incarcerated in the NT are Aboriginal, and the rate is already eleven times greater than that of any other jurisdiction in the nation.
After a resounding election victory and a campaign pledge to be tough on crime, the territory’s new government claims to have a mandate.
It makes the case that criminalizing young people will deter them from committing crimes in the future.
