Video: Should the age of criminal responsibility be changed?

﻿Hello, welcome to Citizenship. My name is Mrs. White, and I'm your teacher today. Before we start the lesson, grab yourself, pen, paper, make some space and we'll get started. Now the key question today that am going to ask you to think about, look into your brain is, should the age of criminal responsibility be changed. So that is what is going to give us a big question for the lesson. Hopefully by the end of the lesson, you'll be able to answer that question. Now, the first part of the lesson, we're going to look at what is right and wrong. Then I'm going to have a look at why we need laws, find out what is a crime. And then we'll look at the question and the age of criminal responsibility and should that be reviewed? So let's go through and the first one is vital. So how do we choose right from wrong? We follow our instincts to live together safely and happily. And a person thinks about the effects of their choices on the happiness of the people or animals concerned and takes the kindest course of action that will do the least harm. Now it's been shown that even babies from as young as 7 months old, have been shown to be able to tell the difference between right and wrong. And if you're interested in that, there's some really interesting videos on BBC and the babies are actually choosing the goodie, the good character over the bad character every single time. So that means that in our inner us, you know, even before we've had enough time to kind of read or write or watch TV or learn anything, it is that actually, we do know what right and wrong is. Now I'm going to show you a video and I want you to watch the video and make notes. So get a pen ready. See if you can spot the actions of right and wrong and behaving in a way that is best for the community. So when you're watching this group, see if you can see social responsibility, not being selfish, following rules, consideration, affection, and cooperation, and all of the things we need for groups and communities to survive. So that's what you're looking for. Okay? Remember that if you get to the end of the video and you think, Oh, I forgot to write down notes. You can rewind and then watch it again. So, it's not a problem.

She's the biggest meerkat they've ever seen, requires serious examination. She's been made to smell like the colony, so this is to reassure something. Each day, different volunteers set up a creche giving all the child support a mother could wish for. They share rules, including sentry duty. It demands concentration and it's easy to lose focus. And sometimes it's good to have someone watching your back. Being a sentry is a risky business, as they are easy targets for predators. But with the young pups to protect, they take greater risks by climbing higher. Here, they can see predators earlier, but are vulnerable to birds of prey. Their self-sacrifice is about to be tested. But this is no ordinary Cobra, it's a spy Cobra. With no regard for her own safety, she prepares to face the snake. She realised that she went to the real thing, bravely protecting the colony with no thought for herself. Her aim is to harass the snake into leaving. But the spy snake snake, holding crying, the meerkat calls for reinforcements. This is where a fraternity comes into its own. An intimidating wall of meerkats face up to spy cobra. They push their luck as far as they dare, goading the snake to strike. Real snakes tyre easily. So it's a matter of wearing it down. But one meerkat senses there's something different about this serpent. It may look can move like a real snake, but it shows no sign of living. Spy snake has been well and truly rumbled. Satisfied he's harmless, the meerkats go back to what they enjoy best, relaxing among friends.

Now, I'm pretty sure you didn't expect to see meerkats today. Well, when I was looking for the resources for this lesson, I thought, what should I do? Let's have a look at how we can see, a good community working together. And I thought actually animal behaviour might give me some answers. And I found this meerkat video, and I thought this is perfect. So what did you see? Did you see what I could see? Maybe sharing childcare, looking out for creditors, teamwork, taking risks to protect others, not being selfish, protecting the community and swapping roles. All of those things show that community following rules, the community follows these rules. Even if they're not spoken, they're not written down, but for them to live together and to be safe and to be happy and to thrive, they need those rules. But as humans we've taken this, understanding thing of right and wrong further. And we've created fairness, equality, happiness, freedom, and justice. Now we're going to specifically look at justice today. And although the others come with this, if justice is happening because justice is about applying the law fairly to a person and to make sure that under the law they're treated properly. So let's have a look at that. So why do we need laws? Why do they need to exist in a place? Well, we need to keep us safe. We need them to keep us safe and live together peacefully. We need to protect all citizens and ensure human rights are respected. And we want to ensure that no one is discriminated against, want to keep law and keep order, sorry, and prevent chaos. We want to limit the power of those in charge and ensure they're held accountable. So that means the people that are in charge of us can't do whatever they want. They have to work within the law as well. And answer questions from us. Like why did you do that? That's part of the law as well. And it doesn't matter what your background is. Laws are there to protect all of us from discrimination. So that's really important to remember. They are there to protect every single one of us. Now, what I'd like you to do is to do another task. And I want you to just write down your own summary, a couple of sentences of why you think laws were benefit to community. Why do we need laws? So on paper, just get those written down, and pause this video, and then restart once you're done. Now what did you write? Let's have some examples. Let's have a look. We need laws to prevent apology. We need laws to keep people safe, to make sure there is law and order and prevent chaos. Laws ensure citizens are treated fairly and no one is discriminated against, and also make sure that people have their human rights respected. We also need laws to limit the power of people in charge, and we can protect people from discrimination due to race, gender, disability, age, sexuality, and beliefs. And those are protected characteristics as are other protected characteristics. And those things mean that we are protected under law as well. So it's really important to understand that laws, make sure they protect us they protect us. Okay. So have a look at your summary and if you've got any of those, give yourself big tick. And if you want to add some there, do that too. So if you want to put your own pause in, you can as well, and then make some changes. If you like, okay, let's go on. Next thing is what is a crime? We're actually going to look at that and see if we can break it down. Now, this picture's great. I really like this picture because it's got some brilliant fingerprints on it and we've got the cuff, the handcuffs as well. Now the police uphold the law. Okay. So that's why that's there. But let's have a look at what a crime actually is. Crime is a deliberate act, that causes physical or psychological harm. That means it hurts somebody's body, or it hurts them mentally. It can cause damage to or loss of property and is against the law. So it's breaking a law that's been written, okay? So we'll have a look at some comparisons now. What's the law and what isn't the law? Sorry, I should have said what is a crime and what isn't a crime. That's silly, isn't it? So let's have a look at these two comparisons now. Is a crime. So let's have a look. This first one, stealing clothes from a shop, we know it's wrong to steal. We know that we can get into trouble. And we know that we could end up in court if we steal clothes from a shop. But it's not a crime to borrow hoodie from your brother's wardrobe, he might scream at you and say, I'm going to call the police. You've taken my best hoodie, but the police won't follow that through because it's not a crime. It's not seen as a crime. Let's have a look at the next one. Spraying graffiti on a wall. That is a crime, that's vandalism. So that's damage to property. However, it's not a crime if you spray graffiti art onto a wall where the owner has given permission. Suddenly it's not vandalism anymore, is it? It's art or it's environmental improvement. But they have to give permission. And then the last one that I've given as an example, it is a crime to share a naked photo of a school friend or of anybody under the age of 18 years old. So that's including yourself. You can't send naked selfies. That's illegal. That is a crime. But it's not a crime to share a photo of a friend's face. Now, if we think about how that is a crime, is that actually it would cause psychological harm. If you sent a photo to somebody and then they passed it onto other people, who's out there, it's going to hurt you a lot. But they've recently made it a crime to do that. So be very careful. Don't share pictures of yourself or with other people. Okay, so we've looked at as a crime and not crime. Let's move on. So the last thing comes back to the question, doesn't it right at the beginning of the lesson, the age of criminal responsibility. So let's have a look at that in a bit more detail.

No one of any age is allowed to break the law. Okay? Nobody, but in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, the age of criminal responsibility is 10 years old, and it's just become 12 in Scotland. So that means that criminal responsibility is you taking responsibility for the things that you do. So if you break the law, then you are fully punished. I mean it's only the children younger than that, do not understand that what they've done is wrong. And if they commit a serious crime, social services will deal with the case. Everyone over the age of 10 is held responsible for their crimes and can be arrested, tried, and if found guilty, punished. But it's not the same in every country, I've done some research and the children's rights international network had some information. And the age of criminal responsibility in other countries, Belgium is 12. France is 13. Germany is 14. Italy is also 14 as is Spain and Luxembourg for most crimes, it's 18, but the serious crimes it's 16. So none of those children that live in those countries can be punished for committing a crime because they're still seeing his children up until they're that age. So why is it so young in the UK? Is 10 the right age? Let's have a look at that as a question. Longer writing, just listen, I'll read it out. You can read it if you like, but I'll read it out. The current age of criminal responsibility is 10 years old. This has been the same since 1963, but children have had a degree of protection. For children that age 10-14 years, the prosecution had to prove that the child knew that mis, sorry, the behaviour was wrong rather than just naughty or mischievous. Now the prosecution of the people that are blaming the person and saying, you've done this and they are the ones on the side of the victim. So if it was graffiti, the people trying to make sure you were punished are called the prosecution, okay? The defence are the people who are on your side, sticking up for you and helping and advising you. Now the Latin term for this thing is called doli incapax. Now doli incapax means that the assumption is if you're aged 10 to 14, you might not actually understand that what you've done was law breaking rather than just being naughty. But they changed this in 1998, the law change following a serious crime committed in 1993, by two, 10 year old boys, they abducted and killed a toddler called James Bulger. So this protection doli incapax was taken away. And that meant that anybody over the age of 10 years old had to face punishment for their crimes. Do you think the age of criminal responsibility should be changed from 10 years old? And it's been over 20 years now since they changed it, do you think it benefits children? Do you think it's the right thing? Do children actually know what is right or wrong? Now here's some arguments to help you think about this. So let's keep the age at 10. Imagine we were to say, no, keep it at 10. What would people say? Well, let's all look at each quote. By the age of 10, their families and schools have taught them right from wrong. So that means they've been to school, they know they know what they should do, what they shouldn't do. Their families do as well by 10. The pink comment says children under 10 do know right from wrong. They know when they're committing a crime. The green one says, if you let them get away without a proper punishment, they would just go onto worst crimes. The age should be younger. So at that point, they're saying, no, they really need to be, they know that they've done wrong and that will, you know, they won't do it again. And let's have a look at the orange one. This is quite important. Having the ages low as 10 is a useful deterrent. Now deterrent means to put somebody off something. So if you knew that swearing at your teacher would give you a detention or you could be in isolation the next day or something like that, that is a deterrent that's supposed to put you off. So you get wuh, no I'm not going to swear at my teacher, even though I feel quite crossed right now, because I'll get into trouble. But you'll say no is wrong. So, it's that double thing, isn't it? So it's a deterrent. So let's have a look at the arguments to raise the age. Let's have a look. Raise the age above 10. Well, the green comment first, and I'll go anti clockwise. England's has the lowest age of criminal responsibility in England. No, I read that wrong, didn't I? England has the lowest age of criminal responsibility in Europe. And this is not internationally acceptable. That's from the United Nations. And most countries in the world that are members of the United nations. They actually look out for the rights of lots of people. And they're looking at children's rights. So they're saying it's, it's not internationally accessible. The rest of the world doesn't accept this. The pink comment, let's have a look. A child doesn't understand the court processes. So can't have a fair trial. Okay. So they won't understand what the what's happening to them, the prosecution or defence or the, you know, the different statements for witnesses and the evidence. They just don't understand the whole process. So they can't have a fair trial. Let's have a look at the turquoise one. In 2016, 87,535 under eighteens who were arrested. Only 703 of those were aged 10 to 11. So it's a very small percentage of children that are arrested are aged 10 to 11. Remember that we're only talking 10 to 18 year olds in that whole big number. Let's have a look at the blue one. Treating young children who do bad things as people who need help, instead of criminals is better for them and for society. I think that's quite key, isn't it? That is better for that young person. Okay. But you decide. And then finally the orange comment. Children under 10 are too young to know what they're doing. You might say differently. So what do you think? Okay, let's move. This is your final in lesson task. If you like, I want you to think about what the age of criminal responsibility should be. Okay. Write down your view for or against changing the age of criminal responsibility in England. So are you for it? So let's change it. 10 is too young. That's make it higher. Or 10 is too high maybe or against changing the age. So against is sorry. Yeah, just keeping it as it is at 10 years old. In your response, I want you to include at least three sentences, and refer at least one piece of evidence from the lesson. Now this is an online lesson that you can rewind. So you can go back and find the evidence to help you write the answer. So three sentences, about whether for or against changing the age of criminal responsibility in England, and one piece of evidence in that response as well, We start the video when you're done. So let's talk about the model answer. This is what you might have written if you arguing for change in the age of criminal responsibility. So you're for the foresight. The age of criminal responsibility should be 12 years old. This is because children develop at different ages and a 10 year old is still very young and in primary school. Other countries have right to choose a higher age. And the United Nations thinks 10 is too young as well. So that's your evidence popped in there. I also think that once a child is labelled as a criminal, then that sticks. This may mean that child will then get involved with more crime, a mixed with the wrong people. A better way would be to help the child with their behaviour and teach them how to make good decisions in their life. So you can adjust your answer after that. If you want to pause again and just add to answer, you can do it's a bit of that time. Okay? But let's go on. So in the lesson we've looked at what is right and wrong. We've looked at why we need laws. Meerkats don't have laws, but they do know what's right or wrong and how to behave to make their community thrive. We've also looked at what is a crime and looked at some comparisons. And we looked at the age of criminal responsibility. Now this isn't a homework because you're already at home. If you're doing this in school, then this is a nice extension task today. So I'd like you to discuss the age of criminal responsibility with people in your home. I want you to add to your phone against documents with that when you're listening to them, do you all agree or do you have different perspectives. Now, when you're thinking about this, think about what, impact would be in prosecuted, have on a child, How prosecuting a 10 to 11 year old benefit the victims. And what alternatives do you think should be available to deal with children who commit crimes? Now you can show the person you're discussing with this screen, this slide, so they can see and what you want them to do. And if you want to share your ideas, ask adult to Tweet #LearnWithOak @OakNational And it'd be great to see what you think.

So that's the end of the lesson. I hope you enjoyed it. Hope you learned quite a lot and felt like it's a topic you'd like to explore more. To test your learning, go to the end and have a good quiz. And I'll see you again. Another time. Bye.

Exit Quiz: Should the age of criminal responsibility be changed?

Completed: Should the age of criminal responsibility be changed?

In this lesson we will explore the understanding of right and wrong and how this can be linked to crime. We will go on to compare the ages of criminal responsibility across different countries and discuss the effects of being held responsible for a crime as a child.

Citizenship

Should the age of criminal responsibility be changed?

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Final Quiz

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