This is an aspect of the
public policy of
parens patriae. In the
criminal law, each state will consider the nature of its own society and the available evidence of the age at which antisocial behaviors begins to manifest itself. Some societies will have qualities of indulgence toward the young and inexperienced, and will not wish them to be exposed to the
criminal law system before all other avenues of response have been exhausted. Hence, some states have a policy of
doli incapax (i.e. incapable of wrong) and exclude liability for all acts and omissions that would otherwise have been criminal after reaching a specified age. Hence, no matter what the child may have done, there cannot be a criminal
prosecution. However, although no criminal liability is inferred, other aspects of law may be applied. For example, in
Nordic countries, an offense by a person under 15 years of age is considered mostly a symptom of problems in child's development. This will cause the social authorities to take appropriate administrative measures to secure the development of the child. Such measures may range from counseling to placement at a special care unit. Being non-judicial, the measures are not dependent on the severity of the offense committed but on the overall circumstances of the child. The policy of treating minors as incapable of committing crimes does not necessarily reflect modern sensibilities. Thus, if the rationale of the excuse is that children below a certain age lack the capacity to form the
mens rea of an offense, this may no longer be a sustainable argument. Indeed, given the different speeds at which people may develop both physically and intellectually, any form of explicit age limit may be arbitrary and irrational. Yet, the sense that children do not deserve to be exposed to criminal punishment in the same way as adults remains strong. Children have not had experience of life, nor do they have the same mental and intellectual capacities as adults. Hence, it might be considered unfair to treat young children in the same way as adults. In
Scotland, the age of criminal responsibility was raised from 8 to 12 by the implementation of the Age of Criminal Responsibility (Scotland) Act 2019, which came into force on 31 March 2020. The
Children and Young People's Commissioner Scotland called this "unacceptable", saying that it "still leaves Scotland's age of criminal responsibility two years below the minimum acceptable international standard of 14".
Sweden,
Finland, and
Norway all set the age at 15 years. In the
United States, the minimum age for federal crimes is 11 years. State minimums vary, with 24 states having no defined minimum age, and defined minimums ranging from 7 years in
Florida to 13 years in
Maryland and
New Hampshire.
England and Wales The age of criminal responsibility in England and Wales is 10, the joint lowest in Europe alongside Switzerland. The
UN Committee on the Rights of the Child has called for the age of criminal responsibility in England and Wales to be raised to at least 14, as have top judges in England and Wales, including former president of the supreme court
Lady Hale. A raise to 14 is also backed by
Shami Chakrabarti, the former director of
Liberty. Fiona Rutherford, the chief executive of the charity Justice, called the current criminal age of responsibility of 10, "cruel and irrational", as well as, "at odds with international norms and years behind the science on brain development". In December 2025, a Ministry of Justice spokesperson said the government are not changing the age of criminal responsibility. ==By country==