United Nations Model Strategies and Practical Measures on the Elimination of Violence against Children in the Field of Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice A/RES/69/194 (f) To ensure that criminal justice professionals receive adequate training and continuing education on all relevant national laws, policies and programmes, as well as relevant international legal instruments; (g) To promote the development and use of specialized expertise among criminal justice professionals, including through the establishment, where possible, of specialized units or personnel and specialized courts or dedicated court time, and to ensure that all police officers, prosecutors, judges and other criminal justice professionals receive regular and institutionalized training to sensitize them to gender- and child-related issues and to build their capacity with regard to responding to violence against children; (h) To ensure that criminal justice officials and other relevant authorities are adequately trained in their respective areas of competence: (i) To identify and respond appropriately to the specific needs of child victims of violence; (ii) To receive and treat all child victims of violence respectfully, with a view to preventing secondary victimization; (iii) To handle complaints confidentially; (iv) To conduct effective investigations of alleged incidents of violence against children; (v) To interact with child victims in an age-appropriate and child- and gender-sensitive manner; (vi) To conduct safety assessments and implement risk management measures; (vii) To enforce protection orders; (i) To support the development of codes of conduct for criminal justice professionals that prohibit violence against children, including safe complaint and referral procedures, and to encourage relevant professional associations to develop enforceable standards of practice and behaviour. Part three Preventing and responding to violence against children within the justice system XI. Reducing the number of children in contact with the justice system 29. Recognizing the importance of avoiding the unnecessary criminalization and penalization of children, Member States are urged, as appropriate and while taking into consideration relevant international human rights instruments, to ensure that any conduct not considered a criminal offence or not penalized if committed by an adult is also not considered a criminal offence and not penalized if committed by a child, in order to prevent the child’s stigmatization, victimization and criminalization. 30. In this regard, Member States are encouraged not to set the minimum age of criminal responsibility at too low an age level, bearing in mind the emotional, mental and intellectual maturity of children, and in this respect reference is made to the recommendations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child to increase the lower minimum age of criminal responsibility without exception to the age of 12 years as the absolute minimum age, and to continue to increase it to a higher age level. 21/29