SNP look at making 18 the age of criminal responsibility

Soft touch lunacy: Outrage as SNP look at making 18 the age of criminal responsibility with even murderers avoiding justice

• Campaigners want age increased to prevent stigmatisation
• Move would make Scottish justice system world’s most lenient for juveniles

New laws are being considered to raise the age of criminal responsibility in Scotland from 12 to 18 – sparking a fresh row over soft touch justice.

Campaigners want a hike in the age at which offenders can get a criminal record to prevent stigmatisation.

The SNP Government has set up an advisory group including council chiefs, social workers and education leaders and is looking at a possible increase to 18.

Any such move would make Scotland’s justice system one of the most lenient in the world for juveniles.

It prompted anger that serious offenders could avoid convictions or be let off with softer punishments.

Aaron Campbell was 16 when he was jailed for life for murder and rape but may have avoided conviction had the age of criminal responsibility been 18

Campbell was convicted for killing Alesha MacPhail (pictured), 6

Scottish Tory deputy justice spokesman Sharon Dowey said: ‘The public will be rightly concerned by these plans.

Killer, 16, could have been ruled too young

Aaron Campbell was 16 when he was jailed for life for the abduction, rape and murder of six-year-old Alesha MacPhail – but he may have avoided conviction if the age of criminal responsibility had been 18.

Alesha was visiting family in Rothesay, on the Isle of Bute, in July 2018 when Campbell entered her home and took her from her bed before savagely killing her and dumping her body in the grounds of a former hotel.

Trial judge Lord Matthews said Campbell had shown ‘a staggering lack of remorse’ and that his account of the killing had been ‘cold-blooded and horrific’.

He gave the teenager the heaviest juvenile sentence imposed in modern Scottish history – 27 years.

However, the jail term was later cut to 24 years after his lawyers argued at the Court of Criminal Appeal, in Edinburgh, that the initial sentence was ‘excessive’ because of his age.

Appeal judges Lady Dorrian, Lord Menzies and Lord Drummond Young also ruled the initial punishment failed to take into account the possibility that he could become rehabilitated.

Alesha, who lived in Airdrie with her mother Georgina Lochrane, was just a few days into her holiday when Campbell abducted her in the middle of the night.

The child’s body was found the following morning.

A post-mortem examination later revealed she had suffered 117 injuries.

‘If these changes were already in place, horrific criminals like murderer Aaron Campbell may have been let off the hook completely, which would have been utter lunacy. The SNP need to be upfront about what proposals they are planning and the impact on victims.’

The age of criminal responsibility was raised from eight to 12 in Scotland two years ago after ministers said there was ‘overwhelming support’ from police, victim support organisations and charities that help vulnerable children.

The law that brought in the increase committed ministers to a further review.

The age of criminal responsibility in England and Wales is ten. The threshold varies around the world. It is 15 in Denmark, 16 in Spain and 18 in Brazil and Chile.

The work of the advisory group features in minutes for the executive board of the Crown Office. Its officials are ‘representatives to the group and members of a subgroup on the operational implications of any further increase’.

Official figures contained in a legal analysis published by the Children and Young People’s Commissioner in 2020 showed that 4,555 children up to the age of 17 were convicted in Scottish courts between 2016-17 and 2018-19.

There were 28 High Court prosecutions for children aged 16-17 between 2016 and 2019 for a range of crimes, including nine for violence and 16 for sex crimes.

The Independent Care Review – commissioned by the SNP Government – has recommended that the ‘age of minimum criminal responsibility be brought in line with the most progressive global governments’.

Last night a spokesman for the review said the ‘impact of early criminalisation is lifelong and can make it profoundly difficult for young people to access future opportunities’, adding: ‘The negative consequences of this are borne not only by the children and young people themselves, but by Scotland as a whole.’

Gina Wilson, head of strategy for the Children and Young People’s Commissioner, suggested the age of criminal responsibility should be ‘raised immediately’ to 14 and welcomed discussions to raise it to ‘at least 16’.

She said: ‘The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child and the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights both raised serious concerns about Scotland’s approach and have made clear that an age of criminal responsibility below 14 is unacceptable.’

Earlier this year, Dr Brian Plastow, Scotland’s biometrics commissioner, voiced concern over police retaining DNA and other information from vulnerable children.

A Scottish Government spokesman said ministers had a duty to review the operation of the Age of Criminal Responsibility (Scotland) Act 2019 within three years of its commencement in December 2021 and that recommendations from the advisory group were expected by next year.

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