The age of criminal responsibility

Are you old enough to know what’s right and wrong?

The law says that children under the age of 10 years cannot commit crimes. It is felt that on the whole, children under 10 are too young to weigh up what is right and wrong and to deliberately break the law.

When very young children get into serious trouble, or they have problems, social workers often try to help them and their families but if children are out of control, a youth court can have them taken into care.

When children reach the age of 10 then they can be arrested and charged with crimes and taken to court in the same way as adults can but from the age of 10-17 young people appear in the youth court.

What happens when someone gets into trouble? Let’s follow two young people and find out: David and Darren's tale

More information:

• Criminal responsibility
• David and Darren's tale
• Helplines

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