Less than three years after raising the age of criminal responsibility from nine to 14 years, the government is acknowledging that the change has created legal “lacunae”, saying it wants to explore ways to address it.
Home Affairs Minister Carmelo Abela announced this yesterday during the inauguration of an interactive children’s area at the police headquarters in Floriana. The facility is intended to provide an informal setting in which Vice Squad officers can interview underage victims of abuse.
Last month, a spokeswoman for government welfare agency Appoġġ told The Sunday Times of Malta that children under 14 were being exploited by adults to commit crimes on their behalf, including theft and drug trafficking. According to Appoġġ such cases increased following the 2014 Criminal Code amendments.
Asked to give details about the manner in which the police force was handling such cases of exploitation, the Home Affairs Minister said yesterday that the issue had been raised a few days ago during a meeting with the Commissioner for Children.
Children under 14 are being exploited by adults to commit crimes on their behalf, including theft and drug trafficking
He added that both sides discussed ways of how to address this but stressed that any solutions had to look at the bigger picture and not just a legalistic perspective.
“Any proposals need to be drafted through an inter-ministerial approach, and for the time being, no time frames have been set for their presentation,” he said. However, Mr Abela pointed out that the age of criminal responsibility would not be lowered, due to Malta’s obligations regarding international conventions and EU directives.
The solution was not to throw minors in jail, but rather to try to assess the roots of the problem, which more often than not are of a social nature, Mr Abela added.
Police Commissioner Laurence Cutajar pointed out that cases involving minors under 14 were still investigated, though they could not be arraigned in court.
The verbal warning given to these minors by the police should serve as a deterrent to keep them away from criminality, he added.
Mr Abela lauded the officers who had taken the initiative to set up the children’s interactive room. Apart from toys and other educational equipment, it includes multimedia facilities through which officers are able to interview minors during investigations.
However, it was pointed out that none of the evidence gathered can be used in court.
This year, the Vice Squad investigated about 50 cases involving sexual, physical and emotional abuse of minors. The police have pressed paedophilia charges against 130 persons. A significant number of them were discovered through a joint Interpol operation.