Criminals over the age of 10 should be tried as an adult, (rather than by the youth court as current).?


On average, everyone disagrees with significant nonconsensus between 559 voters.

Disagree
 
Agree

Please read the comments from other voters below, then scroll down make your decision. Do you agree or disagree with the following statement?

Criminals over the age of 10 should be tried as an adult, (rather than by the youth court as current).

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Reasons To Disagree

How ridiculous!

28 November 2005

Criminals over the age of 16 need be tried as an adult.

5 January 2006

maybe 15 but 10 is too young... repeat offending needs to be treated harsher though

15 February 2006

No adults are people who have the ability to think through there emotions and see logical answers to there problems,i dont believe that the majority of people have that ability until they are into there mid 20's

3 March 2006

How bout we focus on crime prevention, and reducing and eliminating the causes of crime, such as poverty instead!?

21 March 2006

because the young adult are not so awear over theier doing most of time by explaining and punishment that suitable to their age they will completly chang (BY regular care from society and parent sides)

17 May 2006

Only if we lower the drinking age to 10 also.

10 February 2007

Destroying a person's life at the age of 10 will only lead to a life of poverty, misery and - you guessed it - crime.

6 November 2007

10 YEAR OLDs CANT DRIVE SMOKE DRINK HAVE SEX!!! HOW ARE THEY ADULTS???

31 January 2008

I think there should be a middle court after the youth court and before the adult court. These young people are like sporks, are they spoons or are they forks? they're neither....

3 October 2008

definitely not! Children do not have a fully developed sense of self, particularly if they come from a dysfunctional background. Punitive measures have been proven to be useless. Adult punitive measures are sure to complete the road to future crime.

28 April 2009

this idea is discusting and the most stupid thing ive ever heard. this would ruin so many lives. many kids, teenagers and adults ahve atleast one run in with the police in their life, not always enough to go to court but still. imagen if you where 10 years old and you stole something from the dairy or smashed someones window with your mates, then got aressted and charged with theft or vandilsm at the age of 10. that on your record your whole life. so do you guys want your kids out there risking getting charged at the age of 10. I sure wouldnt!

26 June 2009

no they are still kids

26 April 2010

they should only be tryed as an adult when there are 15 years of age

24 May 2010

Heavens Above. WE as ADULTS need to be addressing why we need juvenile facilities at all. I am not naive. I am merely making a statement!

1 May 2011

As a teenager (and preteen) the brain is still developing along with morals and personality. A child should simply not be held FULLY responsbile for their actions.

29 June 2011

No! 10 year olds are not adults. 17 is the current age to be tried as an adult and 14 is the age to be tried as an adult for serious crimes. I think that is about right. I think the age of criminal responsibility should be lowered to 14 for crimes other than murder and manslaughter though.

26 October 2011

Maybe from the age of 18, but as young as 11? Yeesh!

18 August 2012

At 10 they are still a child. I do believe they should be punished, but also think the parents should carry some of the responsibility.

23 May 2013

14 is the age I like

14 October 2013

 

Reasons To Agree

Certain crimes commited by the very young should either be tried as an adult or be held over for immediate trial once the child reaches 16. Currently we have a system of no responsibility for youth crime, this sets a dangerous precedent and a strong message to a child that crime is OK

25 March 2006

Picking any age that determines someone's responsibility is ridiculous as each person is unique, as are the circumstances of the crime. It is appropriate that the unique circumstances be tested in court rather than applying a blanket rule (which never works).

26 March 2006

In the absence of any moral education or guidance, treat the little beggars like proper criminals.

10 January 2007

In most cases, I would say ten is too young to try them as adults. They haven't got the same coping skills or life experience as adults. However, I would be inclined to treat it on a case by case basis and it would largely depend on the crime, the seriousness and the maturity level of the individual who committed it.

22 June 2007

I agree because they know what they do and what they did to get into trouble and just like everyone else they should get charge.

3 October 2007

tried as an adult after 3 youth court appearacnces

6 April 2008

this is a fantastic idea. Youth aid usually does nothing to underage criminals. My friend was assulted by a 15 year old, broke his arm and stole his phone and ipod. He was refered to youth aid, didn't even have to return the stolen items.

18 April 2008

criminals should be tried as criminals!

1 May 2008

Oh yes. Criminals OVER age ten should DEFINETLY know right from wrong!

16 July 2008

YESSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!! they shouldn't be commiting crimes so early on, give them the real deal and see if that changes their minds.

16 February 2009

ultimately it depends on the crime. Trying them as an adult does not mean it is necessarily appropriate to punish them the same way, but it would mean that certain actions could be taken to "rehabilitate" the child, and that the children/and parents are held accountable for the actions.

15 May 2009

Yup. Its all up to the parents to bring your kids up right.

2 July 2009

I think that ten is a bit young but from the age of 14 and above, they should get a proper punishment for what they do.

13 June 2011

I agree but not universally. If a child has been had up in the youth courts on three violent offences previously then obviously the system is failing them. As a lawyer once said to me. The New Zealand courts are interested in preventing you from re-offending the first couple of times you fall afoul of the law. After that they are only interested in preventing you. The same applies here.

29 November 2011

If you commit the crime, then you must do the time and many 10 year olds out there know exactly the consequences of there actions and therefore should be the same sentence of an adult especially in the case of murder!

6 September 2013

some 10 yr olds do drink, do drive , smoke, take drugs, have sex and commit the same crimes as adults. They should fear the same consequences.

5 November 2015

I think that they should be TRIED as adults, but not sentenced to prison or places too extreme. Somewhere they can feel at least a little at home but still limited in that they actually feel like they're receiving punishment for what they've done, and still have access to education

21 May 2017

Reasons for Remain Neutral

Depends on the cases really. For petty cases no, for serious cases maybe

30 November 2005

It could be a good idea if they had army camps or certain camps to help with their offending, it could also help them change from an earlier age than growing up and becoming worse, also if the child is offending at the age of 10 then their caregiver needs to be looked at as well

20 March 2006

Depends on each individual case!

7 November 2006

It depends on the nature of the crime and the circumstances in which it was committed. Was it committed under the controlling influence of others? I'm not at all sure that our adversarial system is the best. There's a lot to be said for an investigative system.

15 January 2007

it really depends on the crime if it is minor then why but if it is really serious or it is a repeated crime then yes totally

7 March 2007

We need an age of maturity and then all these things can be set at that age.

19 April 2007

10 year olds know what is right and wrong. It depends on how serious the crime is, I suppose.

23 September 2007

Sure - Try them as an adult, but don't punish them as one. If they must do the time, they mustn't do the time with their hardened adult counterparts.

27 December 2007

It should depend on the crime. If it is something like say murder it should be charged as adult but if it is say small theift tagging drinking etc it should be child.

28 July 2009

What no there still young & barley no what there even doing !

27 March 2016

My View

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