Advice to Government: Court-ordered Community Sentence for Children Consultation

We note that this is in line with an action identified within the Strategic Framework for Youth Justice which was published in March 2022. NICCY welcomes that the Department has completed a children’s rights impact assessment (CRIA) prior to the consultation alongside the publication of a children and young person’s version. We would welcome further information on how the Department intends to engage directly with children and young people as part of this consultation process and how the voices and experiences of those who have assisted in this policy development are reflected going forward. We also wish to reiterate the importance of increasing the Minimum Age of Criminal Responsibility (MACR) from the unacceptably low 10 years old to 16 years old in NI.

The full response can be downloaded at the right-hand side of this page.