805Fingerprinting of children aged 14 or under

805 Fingerprinting of children aged 14 or under

(1) For section 464L(1) of the Crimes Act 1958 substitute—

"(1) A police officer must not do any of the following in respect of a child who was under 12 years of age at the time that the child is alleged to have done any act or made any omission which would constitute an offence if the child had been of the age of criminal responsibility—

(a) request the child to give the child's fingerprints;

(b) take fingerprints from the child;

(c) cause any other person to take fingerprints from the child.

It is conclusively presumed that a child who is under 12 years of age cannot commit an offence—see section 10 of the Youth Justice Act 2024.".

(2) In section 464L(2) of the Crimes Act 1958, for "aged 10 years or more but under 15 years" substitute "who is 12 years of age or over but under 15 years of age and".

(3) In section 464L(3)(e) and (7) of the Crimes Act 1958, for "his or her" substitute "the child's".