I would not raise the age of responsibility either. Multiple reasons.

Firstly, kids seem to be getting more mature earlier nowadays. Whether that is real or just perception I do not know but I am pretty sure that by the age of 10 most kids know the difference between right and wrong. Thers is something astray if they don't anyway.

Second reason - Can you just imagine those 12 year olds that already know their 'rights' and why teachers, law enforcers and responsible adults cannot do anything about their anti-social behavior! I am not saying they are the norm - far from it - but there are enough of them to make anyone realise that we should not be handing them carte blanche for their misdeeds.

Finaly - Imagine if some of the anti-social families that plague some areas though that thier 12 year old darling Chardonnays and Waynes could be sent out to commit crimes with no repercussion? The Dickensian Fagin would be made to look like a liberal social worker!

Not sure if we should be discussing punishment itself here as it does not have a direct bearing on the age of reason but as it has been mentioned I will state, once again, why puniushment alone is not the answer, People do not commit crimes expecting to be caught. They expect to get away with it or they would not do it. Whatever the punishment is is not a deterent. The real deterent would be to ensure the punishment is just and that there is a very big risk that the criminal will be caught. Even if we hung people for theft, if only 25% of the thefts ever result in sucessful prosecution (I don't know the current figure - sorry - 25% is just an example) then people would still steal becasue there is a good chance they will get away with it. Don't believe for one minute that increasing sentances will reduce crime. Crime still happened when we used to hang, draw and quarter people.

In addition, while I agree that punishment is an important part of the process, particulary from the victims point of view, there are many instances where re-habilitation can go hand in hand with it. Particularly with young or first offenders. taking us back full circle to the age of responsibility. Punish them by all means. Take away their liberty. Make them do something useful as well though and forcing them to undergo facing themselves can be a lot scarier than most people think!

Cheers

DeG