Thread by @CroakeyNews

I'm catching up on some of the recorded sessions & will start a thread on the 'Impact of the UN Committee’s statement in 2019 in relation to the minimum age of criminal responsibility', one of #RANZCP2022's recorded sessions, presented by Invited speaker Dr Enys Delmage

Dr Delmage is a consultant in adolescent forensic psychiatry and has worked in an adolescent forensic inpatient unit in Porirua, New Zealand, since November 2017. He has an interest in the law as it relates to children.ranzcp2022.com.au/dr-enys-delmage #RANZCP2022

Minimum age of criminal responsibility is defined as the age below which is deemed incapable of having committed a criminal offence. Below this age, children are 'doli incapax' - incapable of knowing that what they were doing was wrong- Dr Delmage #RANZCP2022

In Australia, NZ and most of UK, the minimum age of criminal response is set at 10 years old. In Scotland, the minimum age has recently been changed to 12 years. Above the minimum age, a child can be charged, brought before court and incarcerated - Dr Delmage #RANZCP2022

Quotes by Franz Kafka, talking about his experience in prison, are below - Dr Delmage #RANZCP2022

Why should psychiatrists care? Developmental neuroscience has increased over past 30-40 years - we have great insights into how the brain function - Dr Delmage #RANZCP2022

Psychiatrists have a public health and education role; a duty to respond to consultations on the topic; and we have a role in courts (both civil and criminal)- Dr Delmage #RANZCP2022

We also have a role in protecting children, and witnessing children in very poor conditions is very dispiriting - Dr Delmage #RANZCP2022

How does criminal law manage children differently from civil? From the age of 10, you can commit an offence & be prosecuted, but (referring the UK) you can't buy a hamster until you are 16, nor be a trapeze artist until 12. More examples on the slide - Dr Delmage #RANZCP2022

The phrase "cunning" in a 10-year old didn't make an awful lot of sense to him, Dr Delmage says, it implies a level of executive functioning from frontal lobe that didn't sit very well. #RANZCP2022

Significant degree of variation in minimum age across the world, even in countries next to each other. There is a "colonial effect" though, Dr Delmage says #RANZCP2022

'Doli incapax' = "incapable of evil" or incapable of forming the intent to commit a crime. Rebuttable presumption - above the minimum age vs conclusive presumption - below the minimum age - Dr Delmage #RANZCP2022

To be 'doli incapax', the child must know that the act or omission was seriously wrong (but the notion is not really well tested) - Dr Delmage #RANZCP2022

'Doli incapax' has been described as early as 886AD - the first written description was in 1619 - Dr Delmage #RANZCP2022

Is there a better way to describe developmental immaturity? - "yes, and that's developmental immaturity" - Dr Delmage #RANZCP2022

Also important to be mindful of age of majority which is the age at which children can be managed in the justice system as adults - most countries are 18, but some such as India are younger - Dr Delmage #RANZCP2022

'Doli incapax' no longer in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, as of 1998. In the UK, between the age of minimum age and age of majority, children are usually trialed in youth courts - Dr Delmage #RANZCP2022

Minimum age rules for NZ, Aust and USA.
Aust and NZ have 'doli incapax' protections for 10-14 year olds. North Carolina state in US sets record for minimum age of 6 years old (!!!) - Dr Delmage #RANZCP2022

Further strangeness, Delmage says - 66 out of 220 countries still have 'doli incapax'; 10 countries have different MACR for boys vs girls (and "shocker, boys get a lighter ride than girls do", Delmage says) #RANZCP2022

13 countries have no minimum age of criminal responsibility (France as an example, relies heavily on secure education institutions); Gaza has multiple established legal processes running parallel. 5 countries don't have a position yet to be established - Dr Delmage #RANZCP2022

The beauty of recorded sessions...I am back after a short break to pick up the thread (hopefully!) on the presentation about the minimum age of incarceration rates - Dr Delmage #RANZCP2022

Relevant instruments exist that can guide human rights with respect to incarceration of children - Dr Delmage #RANZCP2022

General Comment No. 24 (2019), on the slide, replaced a General Comment Number 10 (2007) - Dr Delmage #RANZCP2022

Objectives of the change were to divert children away from court, have child's best interest at consideration, empower children & allow children to grow in non-averse conditions- Dr Delmage #RANZCP2022

A diversionary method in NZ is Family Group Conference which can deal with all offending aside from murder/manslaughter, they are chaired by a youth justice coordinator & sets goals for the young person as part of an FGC plan- Dr Delmage #RANZCP2022

Implications of the Comment= most of topics are fairly uncontroversial and most countries should be following this already (although many aren't), arguments for and against raising. UN have clearly outlined that upper age should be no lower than 18 - Dr Delmage #RANZCP2022

Children under MACR - differs significantly around the world, some models include re-education programs, welfare approaches feature most widely internationally - Dr Delmage #RANZCP2022

How do we analyse the cost of various different approaches? Not surprisingly, nobody has done that, calculation of direct and indirect costs vs direct and indirect benefits is very challenging - Dr Delmage #RANZCP2022

Delmage says, "I have had a go" analysing economic cost/benefit. Life time costs of low minimum age of criminal are significantly high. - Dr Delmage #RANZCP2022

Direct & indirect costs of having high MACR 👇- Dr Delmage #RANZCP2022

Some similarities Delmage has seen in recent youth inpatients. Some #SDOH, no mention of colonisation cc @MelissaSweetDr @MegBastard @Change_Record #RANZCP2022

How do we want children to see themselves? the impacts of labelling (ie "youth offenders") plays a significant role on their identity - Dr Delmage #RANZCP2022

In Australia, Queensland are considering raising the age, ACT are raising their age to 14 in 2022. At a Commonwealth level - it has been discussed but decision postponed until 2022 (so sometime soon??? #AusVotesHealth2022) - Dr Delmage #RANZCP2022