Children’s Criminal Proceedings Act 1987
Consider the two situations…
24 year old male
13 year old male
The Five categories
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Homicide
Manslaughter
Murder
Manufacture or sale of firearms
Assault
Sexual Assault
Doli Incapex
(childs presumption of innocence)
States that:
no child between the ages of ten and fourteen are
held criminally responsible for their action unless the
prosecution can prove that the accused acted with:
 Intent
and
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Understood the consequences of their actions
R V LMW
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Victim: Corey Davis; six years old.
Facts: accused thrown into a river, unable to swim and
drowned.
Issue: Did the accused aged ten with a learning disability,
understand the possible consequences of his actions?
Decision: The state could not prove this was understood and
therefore, no conviction.
Effective? – provides justice for the individual (accused) as they
had a learning disability and were protected by doli incapex
Efficient? – highlights the imbalance of the act; a life was lost
which no one was held responsible for
Amendment
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Prohibits the naming of children involved in serious
criminal offences
If the victim is killed, their names will be released
Example : R V LMW
name of accused hidden.
R V SLD
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Australia’s youngest criminal – thirteen and ten months old.
Facts: the accused broke into a home, abducted a four year old
(Courtney Clarke) stabbing her on the families drive way. The
body was then thrown into some nearby grass, the evidence
buried in a neighboring home, the blood washed from the
driveway. Accused faced a 25 year sentence.
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Issue : Is thirteen and nine months to young for conviction of
murder?
Decision: Sentenced to twenty five years imprisonment with a
non parole period of ten years.
Daniel Owens
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Facts: Upon arriving home, Daniel Owens was approached by two
sixteen year olds who attempted to rob him asking for his wallet. Daniel
caught unaware, was in shock and went to comply with the demand,
however the two sixteen years olds acted quickly. Daniel Owens was
brutally bashed to death by the two teenagers.
Decision: One of the sixteen year olds was sentenced to fourteen years
and three months imprisonment, the other is waiting to be trialed.
Effective? Yes, the law was broken a sanction was enforced.
Efficient? Children’s Criminal Proceedings Act enabled society to achieve
a just outcome as the accused found guilty was removed from society as
he was considered a risk to the cohesion. The punishment was enforced
regardless of the age of the accused, which follows the procedures of
the Act.
Effectiveness and Efficiency
Justice
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Children
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who commit serious offences and found guilty are imprisoned
just as adults would be.
Victims and their families are given justice through the conviction of a
juvenile offender.
Fairness
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Regardless
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of age, sanctions apply
All children are given the greatest chance of representation and the court
system applies ‘special policies’ (such as the explanation of everything
within a courtroom) when dealing with children who commit serious
offences
Children with special circumstances (in the case of R VLMW) are taken
into consideration
Equity
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All
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people are equal before the law
Children are dealt with equally, age bias is not a factor in considering the
outcome of the law.
Effectiveness and Efficiency
Efficiency
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Deals only with children aged between ten and eighteen
Deals only with children who commit serious criminal offences
Delegates less serious criminal offences to other authoritative bodies
such as the Police who delegate warnings and cautions
The act has a lower recidivism rate than alternative remedies such as
cautions
Children may be young, but they are not always innocent…