12Matters to which police officer must have regard

12 Matters to which police officer must have regard

(1) Before deciding to commence a proceeding for an offence allegedly committed by a child at 12 or 13 years of age, a police officer must have regard to whether it appears that there is admissible evidence to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the child knew at the time of the alleged commission of the offence that the child's conduct was seriously wrong having regard to section 11(3).

(2) For the purposes of subsection (1), as far as practicable, a police officer must consider the following—

(a) any information available to the police officer about the child's age, maturity and stage of development;

(b) any information available to the police officer about whether the child has a disability or a mental illness;

(c) any previous decision by a court or any person about whether the child could be held criminally responsible for any other conduct;

(d) any other matter relevant to the criminal responsibility of the child or the circumstances of the alleged offending.

(3) If a police officer decides to commence a proceeding for the alleged offence, the police officer must record—

(a) the reasons why it appears that there is admissible evidence to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the child knew at the time of the alleged commission of the offence that the child's conduct was seriously wrong having regard to section 11(3); and

(b) any information, evidence or other matter referred to in subsection (2) that was considered by the police officer; and

(4) A record under subsection (3)—

(a) must be in the prescribed form; and

(b) must be filed in the court with the charge‑sheet at the commencement of the proceeding.