Criminal age rise to 14 ruled out

Children can be prosecuted in the courts from the age of eight

Scottish ministers are considering raising the age of criminal responsibility from eight to 12.

They were responding to a call from the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child to raise the age at which children can be prosecuted in the courts to 14.

Ministers discussed the sensitive issue at their regular cabinet meeting but it has been confirmed that they ruled out going as high as 14.

Scotland has one of the lowest ages in Europe. In England it is 10.

In some Scandinavian countries the age is 15.

Lord Advocate Elish Angiolini has already said she believed eight was too young for criminal prosecution.

The government already has a consultation exercise under way which will not end until March but ministers appear to be "minded" to move towards an age of 12.

They point out that there were only six prosecutions of under 12 year olds in the past five years and that the Children's Hearing system in Scotland was working well in dealing with young offenders.

We must ensure that children are treated as children Robert Brown MSP Liberal Democrats

A Scottish Government said: "The cabinet do not believe that the age should be raised to the recommended point of 14."

"A key point tonight was that it should not go as high as 14, but beyond that there was no decision made on what the final approach will be," he said.

Labour and the Tories urged ministers to be cautious.

Labour justice spokesman Richard Baker said: "I am concerned that by changing the age from its current level that children could be used by older criminals to assist them in committing crimes with impunity.

"I would like to see assurances from the Scottish Government that they have thought through all the implications of any change to the current law."

For the Tories, Bill Aitken said: "The Scottish Government has to be very careful in this matter, particularly against the background of significantly increased offending by this age group. I urge caution in this regard."

The Liberal Democrats' Robert Brown MSP said: "I strongly support raising the age of criminal responsibility.

"We must ensure that children are treated as children. It is quite wrong that children as young as eight have to sit in the dock of an adult court.

"But local communities still need effective protection from children who commit serious criminal acts or a string of repeat vandalism or nuisance offences."