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The Limits of Deterrence: Gangs, Children, and the Race to the Bottom
At 19:23 · chapter starts 18:10
The core logic behind lowering criminal ages is deterrence: if children can be prosecuted, gangs will stop using them. Maighna Nanu dismantles this reasoning with a striking data point: in Britain, where the age of criminal responsibility is already just 10, County Lines gangs are documented to use children as young as 7 [1] — Maighna Nanu "UK County Lines gangs recruit children as young as 7, below even Britain's already-low age of criminal responsibility of 10. Studies show t…" 18:10 . Gangs recruit the youngest available precisely because they are below the legal threshold — and no threshold is low enough to deter them, because they simply don't care about the welfare of the children they exploit. Targeting gang leadership directly would be more effective, Nanu concedes, but governments around the world are struggling to do it. In Sweden, authorities are trying a different approach: applying laws typically used for terrorism to remove gang-affiliated content from social media within one hour. But gangs adapt quickly, and there is no easy fix. The risk, Nanu warns, is that the political pressure to 'do something' drives a race to the bottom that harms children without reducing crime.
The United Nations recommends that the minimum age of criminal responsibility be set at 14.
UK County Lines gangs recruit children as young as 7, below even Britain's already-low age of criminal responsibility of 10. Studies show that lowering the threshold is unlikely to deter gangs — they simply don't care. The real risk is a race to the bottom with no end.
Studies show that County Lines gangs in Britain use children as young as 7, well below the UK's age of criminal responsibility of 10.
In Britain, 80% of prolific adult offenders first committed crimes as children, and more than two-thirds of young offenders reoffend within a year of release. Once you're in the cycle, it is very difficult to get out. Criminalisation creates criminals.
