PG: Lowering legal age for criminal liability not a solution for juvenile offenders

Prosecutor General (PG) Hussain Shameem states the solution for juvenile offenders is relocation from the environment they reside rather than lowering the legal age for criminal liability.

His remarks come after Home Minister Ali Ihusan, in April, announced that the current administration was considering reducing the legal age for criminal culpability from 15 years to 12 years.

Shameem, in a post on his blog, wrote that children offend because they are encouraged to do so within the environment they reside. Henceforth, he cited the solution for juvenile offenders as relocation from the environment they are subjected to crimes.

With such a change, Shameem noted that time will be required for the child’s transfer of schools. Underscoring state resources will have to be utilized for the purpose, Shameem said the feat can only be achieved through patience and perseverance.

He added that these efforts were not an easy task, stressing the rehabilitation of juvenile offenders required the same patience accorded to educating one’s own children.

Shameem described the investment to relocate a juvenile offender as an expense that is much lighter than what will be incurred if he or she is jailed. Nevertheless, he emphasized this course of action would bear much better results than the latter.

On the contrary, Shameem said some officials in the government and law enforcement believe reducing the legal age for criminal culpability from 15 years to either 12 years or 10 years is the solution to combat juvenile offenders. He disagreed with this view, saying social issues cannot be resolved by criminal investigations, prosecution, and prison time.

“If issues are resolved by prosecution and prison time, drug issues will not continue to prevail in the Maldives,’ he added.