Criminal minors: AfD calls for children to be of criminal responsibility from the age of ten

The Brandenburg AfD parliamentary group is in favor of imposing criminal responsibility on children aged ten and over. The background to the demand is migrant criminal gangs, according to AfD MP Lena Kotré in Potsdam. “We often deal with children, ten or eleven years old, who are active in these gangs, who rob, who are violent.” In Germany, young people aged 14 and over are legally responsible.

In addition, the AfD wants young violent or intensive offenders to be taken away from their families and taken into care - and their siblings as well. “To prevent these siblings from going through the same criminal career as their older ones, mostly brothers.” In addition, in the AfD's opinion, these criminals should ultimately be placed in closed accommodation, regardless of whether they have been sentenced to prison or not.

Other factions consider demands to be “absurd” and “absurd”

The other factions clearly rejected the AfD initiative. There must be an understanding of the injustice of the act - that is not the case with ten-year-olds, according to the legal policy spokesman for the CDU parliamentary group, Danny Eichelbaum. “Such a discussion is therefore absurd for ten-year-olds and grossly contrary to the rule of law.” However, there could be discussion about lowering the age of criminal responsibility from 14 to 12 years.

“Of course, we also reject the fact that innocent siblings are taken into family custody here. There is no question at all,” said BSW parliamentary group leader Niels-Olaf Lüders. “In principle, there will be no family detention,” emphasized Tina Fischer, legal policy spokeswoman for the SPD parliamentary group. “It’s absurd.”

The German Police Union (DPolG) recently called for the age of criminal responsibility to be reduced from the current 14 years to 12 years. Federal Justice Minister Stefanie Hubig (SPD) does not believe in a lower age limit.