Children under 14 who by law are too young to face prosecution are being exploited by adults to commit crimes on their behalf, including theft and drug trafficking, government welfare agency Appoġġ has warned.
The trend has developed following amendments to the Criminal Code enacted in 2014, when the age of criminal responsibility was raised from nine years to 14.
Appoġġ sounded the warning when this newspaper enquired about underage crime in the wake of allegations that a 13-year-old student had sexually abused a female classmate in a State secondary school.
A spokeswoman for the welfare agency said they had encountered cases of adults “taking advantage” of the amendments to the Criminal Code by involving minors under 14 in criminal activity. The cases included theft and drug trafficking.
Incidents of underage criminality tackled by Appoġġ also involved vandalism, turbulent relationships with parents, partners and others, substance abuse, promiscuity, self-identity crises, petty crime, school absenteeism and expulsions, she added.
In such circumstances, Appoġġ provides a number of programmes such as Youth in Focus, Looked after Children, Adolescent Day Programme and E4L, which work directly with adolescents.
The onus of criminal responsibility is a heavy one that children should not be expected to shoulder before the age of 14
The agency, through community services, also follows young people who either seek help on their own initiative or are referred by professionals and relatives.
“Unfortunately we encounter cases of adolescents being dumped on our services simply because parents have lost control over them and expect the State to do their job,” the spokeswoman said. “Sometimes our last resort is to go to court to ensure that they are provided with an adequate plan.”
While legal experts have questioned whether the amendments went a step too far, Children’s Commissioner Pauline Miceli defended them. The onus of criminal responsibility is a heavy one that children should not be expected to shoulder before 14, she told The Sunday Times of Malta.
“What is needed is not punitive action against these children but action for them in the form of evidence-based intervention that can put their moral and social development on a harmonious pathway.”
Ms Miceli said this course of action required specialised structures manned by appropriately trained care professionals and more effective systems to discourage such behaviour in the first place
“The Crime Prevention Strategy recently launched by the government is a step in this direction,” she said.
The amendment to the Criminal Code has also been criticised in the light of a proposal, being mulled over by the political parties, to reduce the general election voting age to 16. But the Commissioner said the two issues were quite distinct.
“The onus of electing representatives to Parliament is a very different one, which it is reasonable to expect children to manage competently when they are 16 years of age,” she said.