More than 60,000 people have signed a petition urging the New South Wales government to raise the age of criminal responsibility to 14, and stop the practice of allowing children as young as 10 to be arrested, handcuffed and even strip-searched.
It is part of a national campaign to raise the age, which last year saw the attorneys general of all Australian states and territories agree to move toward raising the age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 12. That step has been criticised as too small by justice advocates, who say raising the age to 12 will have a minimal impact on youth imprisonment rates.
