Despite the Victorian Government walking back its plan to raise the age of criminal responsibility to 14 — a decision made against expert advice — new data shows children aged 10 to 13 make up just one in 300 criminal cases across the state.

A new report from the Sentencing Advisory Council found that only 0.32 per cent of all cases over the ten years to 30 June 2021 involved children aged 10 to 13. Offences committed by children aged 10 to 11 made up fewer than one in 5,000.

The report also emphasised that younger children are "more likely to be a victim of a serious offence (such as murder, an assault resulting in hospitalisation, or a sexual assault) than to be a perpetrator of such an offence".

Directly contradicting many media reports, it added: "Younger children are rarely perpetrators of the most serious crimes."

This evidence challenges lines pushed by some commentators and media outlets, which have fuelled fear-based narratives on youth crime. In response, National Children's Commissioner Anne Hollonds last year said the media should be held accountable for the role they play in spreading misinformation.

The report, released in the wake of the Labor government raising the age to 12 last year but scrapping plans to increase it further, also highlighted the disproportionate impact on Aboriginal children.

While only 2.2 per cent of 10- to 13-year-olds in Victoria are Indigenous, they made up 32.2 per cent of children sentenced for offences committed at ages 10–11, 27.5 per cent at age 12, and 21.1 per cent at age 13.

Stan Winford, Director of the Sentencing Advisory Council, added: "The less serious nature of younger children's offending is further reflected in the sentence types imposed on them. Very few received a term of detention, and none were aged 10 or 11."

"Not only are these sentencing outcomes consistent with the less serious nature of their offending, but they're also consistent with decades of research showing the importance of effectively addressing the causes of children's offending to make the Victorian community safer in the long term," he said.

The report also found many of the children who did offend were living with complex needs — including psychiatric disorders, intellectual disabilities and acquired brain injuries — most of which were undiagnosed or untreated.

While calls to raise the age to 14 have long been backed by child development experts and legal bodies, including the Yoorrook Justice Commission, the state government's decision to backtrack was widely condemned.

Last year, the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service (VALS) said they felt "betrayed by their [the government's] treacherous decision to abandon our children".

Sue-Anne Hunter, Deputy Chair of the Yoorrook Justice Commission, said the decision was particularly disappointing given the expert testimony provided to the Commission just weeks earlier which heard raising the age of criminal responsibility aligns with the cognitive development of children.

"It is appalling that, weeks after presenting this evidence, the State has reneged on their commitments," she said at the time.

The Victorian Government's reversal was supported by police — who said they were comfortable for the age to be 12 — and the opposition, who pushed for it to remain at 10.

Then-Police Commissioner Shane Patton said: "12- and 13-year-olds commit very serious offences and we need to be able to hold them to account for community safety and take them before the courts."

VALS Chief Executive Nerita Waight has been critical of the public fear campaigns around youth crime and has accused police of "fear-mongering".

"Fear mongering about crime continues that trauma because it is Aboriginal children, young people and adults who are targeted when governments ramp up tough on crime policies," she told National Indigenous Times last year.

Although doli incapax — the legal presumption that children under 14 cannot form criminal intent — was codified last year, this has been overshadowed by the recent introduction of what have been labelled Australia's toughest bail laws.

As of April, there were 39 more young people aged 12 to 17 on remand compared to the previous year — a 71 per cent increase.

Earlier this month, Ms Waight said locking up children will be Premier Jacinta Allan's legacy.

"The Victorian government are not innovative thinkers; they are simply following other states and territories down the path of ill-informed policy approaches to tackling youth justice issues," she said.

In a statement earlier this year, Victoria Legal Aid said: "Raising the age of criminal responsibility would also contribute to addressing the systemic racism which leads to the over-criminalisation of First Nations children, and children from communities of colour.

"Making this change alongside appropriate investment in early intervention and intensive support services is the best way to support children to develop positive behaviours and to fulfil their potential."