Westchester Children’s Association | wca@wca4kids.org | 914.946.7676

FACT SHEET

Raising the Age of Criminal Responsibility

Join the Westchester Campaign to Treat Children as Children

Key Facts

When young people are treated as juveniles, re-arrest rates are lower than those of a similar age who are processed through an adult system. i Studies have found that young people transferred to the adult criminal justice system were approximately 33.7% more likely to be re-arrested for a violent crime than youth retained in the juvenile justice system. Around 80% of youth released from adult prisons reoffend and are more likely to commit more serious crimes. ii

Over 70% of the 16- and 17-year olds arrested in New York State are black or Hispanic. Of those sentenced to incarceration, 80% are black or Hispanic. iii

Studies show that youth in adult prisons are more likely than adults to have a substantiated report of sexual violence while incarcerated, and are 50% more likely to be attacked with a weapon than children placed in juvenile facilities. iv

Research into brain development underscores that adolescents are in fact children and that the human brain is not fully formed until the age of 25. As the cognitive skills of adolescents are developing, adolescent’s behavior is often impulsive and adolescents lack the ability to focus on the consequences of their behavior. v

New York is one of only two states that has not raised the age of criminal responsibility above the age of 16. The majority—75 percent—of criminal acts committed by children and adolescents in New York are misdemeanors. Keeping youngsters who commit crimes out of the adult criminal justice system gives them a better chance for a positive future and makes our communities safer.

Westchester Facts

1,236 sixteen and seventeen year olds were arrested in 2010 in Westchester County

68.8% were misdemeanors 15.7% were violent felonies 15.6% were other felony offenses

By October 1, 2012:

1,144 of the 1,236 cases were resolved 10.8% were sentenced to some period of

incarceration 12% were sentenced to probation 38.8% were not convicted/adjudicated

Source: Criminal Justice Case Processing of 16-17 Year Olds, Prepared by DCJS OJRP January 4, 2013

Thank you to The Tow Foundation for their generous support of WCA’s Raise the Age campaign efforts.

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i Sobie, Merril. (2010). Pity the child: The age of delinquency in New York. Pace Law Review, 30(3), 18. ii National Campaign to Reform State Juvenile Justice Systems. The Fourth Wave: Juvenile Justice Reforms for the Twenty-First Century; p.

20. Retrieved from: http://www.publicinterestprojects.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/JJ-Whitepaper-Design-Full-Final.pdf.

iii Criminal Justice Case Processing of 16-17 Year Olds, Prepared by DCJS OJRP January 4, 2013

iv National Juvenile Justice Network. Keep Youth Out of Adult Prisons. Retrieved from: http://www.njjn.org/about-us/keep-youth-out-of-

adult-prisons. v MacArthur Foundation Research Network on Adolescent Development and Juvenile Justice. Issue Brief #3: Less Guilty by Reason of

Adolescence. Retrieved from: http://www.adjj.org/downloads/6093issue_brief_3.pdf

The Time is Now:

Approximately 46,000 16- and 17-year olds were arrested in 2010 in New York State. iii

The age of maturity for most legal matters is reached on the 18th birthday.

A permanent criminal record can cause lifetime barriers to higher education, housing and employment.

The federal government and 38 other states use the 18th birthday as the age of adult criminal responsibility (in the remaining 10 states, the age of criminal responsibility is 17). New York is one of only two states where the age of criminal responsibility is 16.

Therapeutic measures including mental health, drug treatment and community based services are necessary to give young people a chance to become constructive adults.

Key Points about Raise The Age:

The Commission on Youth, Public Safety and Justice should Raise the Age following these key principles:

All youth should be treated in a developmentally and age appropriate manner regardless of the crime charged.

All youth should be adjudicated under the Family Court Act giving judges a range of options for adjustment, diversion, programs and placements.

It should be ensured that no youth are housed in adult jails and prisons where they are much more likely to be subject to violence and abuse. New York should continue to reduce the detention and placement of youth in juvenile facilities and continue to invest in evidence-informed community-based services and alternatives to incarceration.

The ability to divert cases of low-risk youth at arrest and from court should be increased in order to reserve court resources.

Validated risk assessment tools should be used to tailor services to individual needs and combat racial disparities.

New York should become a leader in juvenile justice practices by doing more than raising the age to 18.

To join the Westchester campaign to Raise the Age contact Allison Lake at alake@wca4kids.org or 914.946.7676

Raising the Age is good

public policy because it’s…

Consistent with legal trends

Consistent with adolescent brain

development and behavior

Beneficial for public safety

An efficient use of family court resources

Helpful to long-term costs