Consultation on increasing the Minimum Age of Criminal Responsibility in NI | Department of Justice

Consultation on increasing the Minimum Age of Criminal Responsibility in NI | Department of Justice
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Closed consultation
Consultation on increasing the Minimum Age of Criminal Responsibility in NI
Topics:
Prisons
,
Youth Justice
Consultation closed
Consultation opened 3 October 2022, 9.00 am
and closed 23 December 2022, 12.01 am
Summary
The Department is holding a public consultation on increasing the Minimum Age of Criminal Responsibility (MACR) in Northern Ireland.
Documents
MACR consultation document
Microsoft Word (262 KB)
Youth friendly version
Adobe PDF (319 KB)
Consultation response template
Microsoft Word (112 KB)
Rural needs impact assessment
Microsoft Word (706 KB)
Equality screening form
Microsoft Word (133 KB)
Help viewing documents
Consultation description
The Department wants to hear your views on the proposal that the Minimum Age of Criminal Responsibility – or MACR – in Northern Ireland should be raised from the current age of 10 years to 14 years, to comply with the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child recommendation that the MACR for Member States should be at least 14 years of age and preferably higher. We would encourage respondents to read the consultation document above, which sets out the background and information on the issue, and to answer the consultation questions via the
on-line Citizen Space platform
on the NIDirect website
If you are unable to respond using our online consultation facility, you can email your response using the response template above to the following address:
macrviews@justice-ni.gov.uk
or you can write to us at:
Reducing Offending Division
Room 306
Dundonald House
Upper Newtownards Road
Belfast
BT4 3SU
We would be particularly pleased to hear from children and young people, as they are the group most impacted by this issue.
Ways to respond
Consultation closed — responses are no longer being accepted.
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