A report by the Royal Society has said that the age of criminal responsibility here in the UK might be ‘unreasonably low’. Currently children as young as 10 years old are allowed to stand trial for an offence they have committed however this may no longer be the case, with the age potentially being raised to 12 years old. This new proposal will undoubtedly meet with some criticism and concern as if this law had been implemented almost 20 years ago; Robert Thompson and Jon Venables would not have been charged with murdering James Bulger.

The Centre for Social Justice along with children’s charity Barnado’s have stated that for petty crimes, children under the age of 12 should not be convicted however for serious crimes such as murder, manslaughter and rape, the age will not be increased to 12 years old straight away, if at all.

Solicitors, scientists and ethicists have put their comments forward as part of this report and take into consideration brain developments and neuroscience. The way in which the brain works has been examined and it has shown that important changes are made in brain activity well into a person’s teenage years. A professor at the University of Cambridge stated that adolescents sometimes behave irresponsibly and take risks and the part of the brain that is responsible for ‘responsible decision making’ does not fully develop until an individual is around 20 years of age.

From these results and the opinion that at the age of 10 the brain is still developing, many think that the age of criminal responsibility in the UK is currently too low. The Royal Society has recommended that they meet with solicitors and neuroscientists every three years to discuss areas where neuroscience and the law intersect.

Do you think the age of criminal responsibility should be increased? Have your say.