<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?> <docID>326392</docID> <postdate>2024-08-13 08:58:11</postdate> <headline>Victoria flips on age of criminal responsibility move</headline> <body><p><img class="size-full wp-image-326396" src="https://citynews.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/20240430144809630791-original-resized.jpg" alt="" width="900" height="600" /></p> <caption>Youth crime remains a controversial issue in Victoria with the government finally moving on reforms. (Jono Searle/AAP PHOTOS)</caption> <p><span class="kicker-line">By <strong>Callum Godde</strong> in Melbourne</span></p> <p><strong>Victoria is no longer going to raise the age of criminal responsibility to 14.</strong></p> <p>Premier Jacinta Allan is announcing the backflip on the long-advocated reform on Tuesday.</p> <p>The state government is pushing ahead with legislation to raise the current age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 12.</p> <p>It had originally planned to then raise the age to 14 by 2027, but following a series of prominent incidents involving alleged youth offenders including two fatal car crashes, the government has decided to dump that move.</p> <p>Children as young as 10 can be charged, convicted and imprisoned across Australia, except in the NT, which raised the age of criminal responsibility to 12 in August 2023.</p> <p>The ACT passed legislation to raise the age to 14 by 2025 with some exceptions, while Tasmania has pledged to raise the minimum age of criminal detention to 14.</p> </body>