MSPs call for evidence on Age of Criminal Responsibility Bill

Holyrood’s Equalities & Human Rights Committee has issued a call for evidence as it begins its scrutiny of the Age of Criminal Responsibility (Scotland) Bill at stage 1.

The main purpose of the bill is to raise the age of criminal responsibility in Scotland from eight to 12. As a result of this proposed change, it also includes provisions on:

• actions that can be taken by the police when dealing with children under the age of 12;
• what information can be included on an enhanced disclosure or PVG scheme record about actions that occurred before the age of 12;
• information that can be made available to victims; and
• the right of children under 12 to have an advocacy worker present during a police interview.

The committee is looking to hear from academics, people working in the criminal justice sector, victims of crime, and crucially young people and former young offenders. A toolkit for teachers and youth group leaders will be produced to help this to happen.

It welcomes views not only on the appropriate age of criminal responsibility in Scotland, but on whether the bill strikes the right balance in terms of addressing offending behaviour by young children under 12 and the disclosure of such information; implications for the advocacy service; the appropriate balance as regards the best interest of victims; and the approach taken to police powers in the bill.

Committee convener Christina McKelvie MSP commented: "Balancing the rights of young people, victims of crime and wider society means that there is a lot of important detail in this legislation. That’s why we want to hear from as many people as possible.

"The whole committee would want to see a safe society and the rights of young people respected – we need to work out how best to achieve that aim."

Click here to view the call for evidence. The deadline for responses is 6 July 2018.