Welcoming a Long Overdue Step Towards a Child-Centred Justice System
The Bar Council’s recommendation that the minimum age of criminal responsibility in England and Wales should be raised from 10 to 14 is a landmark moment. It reflects decades of evidence about child development, trauma, exploitation and the profound consequences of criminalising children at an age when they are still developing emotionally, socially and neurologically. (Full report here: https://www.barcouncil.org.uk/resource/increase-minimum-age-criminal.html)
At Ending Coercive Offending (ECO), we warmly welcome this recommendation. For too long, children experiencing abuse, neglect, coercion and exploitation have too often been viewed through the lens of offending. Many of the children entering the criminal justice system are themselves victims—children whose choices have been progressively constrained by violence, fear, manipulation, poverty, trauma or exploitation.
Raising the age of criminal responsibility is not about ignoring harmful behaviour. It is about responding to children in ways that are more likely to protect the public, reduce future offending and improve children’s life chances.
The evidence is increasingly clear. Early criminalisation can become part of a child’s identity, increasing rather than reducing the likelihood of future involvement with the justice system. Developmental science tells us that children of this age are still acquiring the cognitive and emotional capacities needed for mature judgement and decision-making. England and Wales remain an international outlier in setting criminal responsibility at just 10 years old.
This recommendation also aligns with an emerging understanding that children’s behaviour cannot be understood in isolation from the contexts in which it occurs. Children’s actions are shaped by relationships, environments, structural inequalities and the systems that surround them. At ECO, this principle sits at the heart of our work.
We have consistently argued that safeguarding and justice systems must move beyond asking, “What has this child done?” towards asking, “What has happened to this child?” and “What circumstances have constrained their choices?”
The Bar Council’s recommendation offers an opportunity to continue that shift.
However, raising the age alone will not be enough. It requires professionals across safeguarding, policing, education and youth justice to recognise children’s need for a welfare response before they become criminalised. Most importantly, it requires us to see children first as children.
The recommendation to increase the minimum age of criminal responsibility is not simply a legal reform. It represents a wider cultural shift, and we look forward to contributing to this important national conversation and continuing to advocate for approaches that recognise children’s experiences, reduce unnecessary criminalisation and create pathways towards safety, recovery and hope. This is a significant step in the right direction. Now we must ensure it is only the beginning.
Written by: ECO