Ten-year-olds do not belong in detention – Interview with Dr Chris Cunneen

Interview with Dr Chris Cunneen by Allan Boyd on RTRFM Thursday 30 July 2020.

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Across Australia, children as young as 10 – can be arrested by police, charged with an offence, remanded in custody, convicted by the courts – and imprisoned.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are disproportionately impacted by these laws – accounting for 65 per cent of children in prisons.

There is a growing community campaign, calling on our leaders to raise the age of criminal responsibility to at least 14.

This week, Australia’s state and federal attorneys-general met to discuss raising the age of criminal responsibility.

To discuss this – Allan Boyd caught up with Doctor Chris Cunneen, Professor of Criminology, University of Technology Sydney – and asked him:

How many children are locked up around the country at the moment?

You can read Chris’s article in the Conversation this week – and find out more about the campaign to raise the age of Criminal Responsibility at raisetheage.org.au

(Article in The Conversation: Ten-year-olds do not belong in detention. Why Australia must raise the age of criminal responsibility – Dr Chris Cunneen – Professor of Criminology, University of Technology Sydney)