CDU Hamburg proposes lowering age of criminal responsibility

The Hamburg CDU opposition is calling for stricter regulations regarding juvenile and youth crime. Dennis Thering, the CDU party and parliamentary group leader, has proposed lowering the age of criminal responsibility from 14 to 12 years for serious and most serious offenses.

Additionally, the party seeks to change how young adults aged 18 to 21 are treated. Thering argues that while these individuals are legally adults capable of voting and driving, they are frequently sentenced under juvenile law. The CDU proposes that for serious crimes, repeat offenders, and high-risk individuals, sentencing under adult criminal law should become the rule rather than the exception.

The proposal follows police crime statistics showing that nearly 2,900 children under the age of 14 were recorded as suspected criminals in Hamburg last year, with 706 of them suspected of involvement in violent crime. The CDU's package of measures also includes calls for increased parental responsibility, intensive pedagogical measures for highly delinquent youths, and more support through language and cultural mediators.