Young offender
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A young offender is a person of either gender who has been convicted or cautioned for a criminal offence. Criminal justice systems often deal with young offenders differently from adult offenders, but different countries apply the term 'young offender' to different age groups depending on the age of criminal responsibility in that country.
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[edit] United Kingdom
The United Kingdom has three separate and distinct criminal justice systems: England & Wales, Northern Ireland, and Scotland. Young offenders are often dealt with by the Youth Offending Team.
In England & Wales the age of criminal responsibility is set at 10. Young offenders aged 10 to 17 (i.e. up to their eighteenth birthday) are classed as a juvenile offender. Between the ages of 18 and 21 (i.e. up to their twenty-first birthday) they are classed as young offenders. Offenders aged 21 and over are known as adult offenders.
In Scotland the age of criminal responsibility is set at 8, one of the lowest ages of criminal responsibility in Europe.
In Northern Ireland it is 10.
To note, in Italy, it is 14.
[edit] Northern Europe
In Iceland it is 15.
In Sweden it is 15.
In Denmark it is 15.
In Finland it is 15.
