Sporrer rejects calls to lower the age of criminal responsibility

Justice Minister Anna Sporrer has rejected calls to lower Austria’s age of criminal responsibility from 14 to 12, saying it will remain at 14, ORF reported.

The debate has intensified after reports of another serious violent offence by a 13-year-old in Vorarlberg. The boy, who is below the age of criminal responsibility, is linked to more than 300 offences this year and has reportedly carried out two brutal robberies against older people. Because of his age, authorities can do little beyond admonishing him and handing him over to his parents, ORF reported.

All of Austria’s state governors have called for the age to be lowered, led by Vorarlberg Governor Markus Wallner of the Austrian People’s Party and FPÖ colleagues in government.

Speaking on ORF’s ZiB 2 programme, Sporrer said children should be raised, not imprisoned. She said child and youth welfare authorities could take responsibility for children whose actions indicated serious failures in their upbringing, and could also detain them under the Home Residence Act.

Sporrer said her ministry had prepared a bill setting out how authorities should deal with minors below the age of criminal responsibility who commit serious offences. The government is discussing the measure and plans to present it in the coming weeks.