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Age of criminal
responsibility
The age of criminal responsibility in England and
Wales is 10 years old. Related content
What happens if your
The rules are different in Scotland child gets in trouble with
(https://www.mygov.scot/young-people-police/). the police (/if-my-child-
gets-in-trouble-with-police)

This means that children under 10 can’t be arrested Youth offending teams
or charged with a crime. There are other punishments (/youth-offending-team)
that can be given to children under 10 who break the
law (/child-under-10-breaks-law). Youth crime prevention
programmes (/youth-
crime-prevention-
Children over 10
programmes)
Children between 10 and 17 can be arrested and
Children in custody
taken to court if they commit a crime.
(/children-in-custody)
They are treated differently from adults and are:

dealt with by youth courts

given different sentences
sent to special secure centres for young people,
not adult prisons

Young people aged 18

Young people aged 18 are treated as an adult by the
law.
If they’re sent to prison, they’ll be sent to a place that
holds 18 to 25-year-olds, not a full adult prison.

Explore the topic

Young people and the law (/browse/justice/young-
people)

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