Question: when did the age of criminal responsibility become 10
Answer: February 1993 James Bulger The murder of two - year - old James Bulger , by Jon Venables and Robert Thompson , both aged 10 , prompted national debate about the relationship between Childhood and criminality , which led to abolition in 1998 of the distinction with regard to criminal responsibility between young persons aged at least 14 and children aged between 10 and 14 .