A centuries-old legal presumption that children aged between 10 and 14 are not capable of evil should become law, a New South Wales review led by a former supreme court judge and a former senior NSW police figure has recommended.

In NSW, the criminal age of responsibility is 10 but the common law presumption of doli incapax – Latin for “incapable of evil” – can apply up to 14, offering protection for children being prosecuted on the presumption they don’t understand the difference between right and wrong.

The presumption can be rebutted by the prosecution, but in 2016 a high court ruling clarified how it should be applied – prosecutors must prove the child understood they were seriously wrong when committing a crime.

Since then, conviction rates of children aged 10 to 13 have plummete

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