A report released last week by the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR), found that almost a fifth of police proceedings against people under the age of 18 in 2023 were for those in the 10 to 13 age group.
This equates to 4,500 legal proceedings against young people below the age of 14.
Other confronting statistics include that more than half the children facing court in this age cohort had been a victim of violence and about a third had accessed homelessness services. Aboriginal children and children living in regional and remote NSW are disproportionately affected…